Something Like Deception
by FadingSlowly
Summary: COMPLETE James has a crush on Lily, but she can't stand him. Out of all the Marauders, she's only friends with Remus. So what does James do? Switch bodies with Remus, of course! But Remus has plans of his own . . .
1. all he ever thinks about

Something Like Deception  
  
Summary: James has a crush on Lily, but she can't stand him. Out of all the Marauders, she only talks to Remus. So what does James do? Get Remus to switch bodies with him, of course!  
  
Chapter 1 - All he ever thinks about  
  
"I don't get it," James Potter remarked gloomily to Sirius Black as they sat in the common room on Saturday night after a trip to Hogsmeade.  
  
Sirius sighed. He could feel another Lily-talk coming on. "What don't you get?" he asked the unavoidable question. He knew James would answer it either way.  
  
"How can she talk to Remus and not me? How can she be his friend, and not mine?" James said.  
  
"Oh, I don't know," Sirius said sarcastically. "Maybe because you aren't Remus?"  
  
James rolled his eyes. "No, I'm serious. We hang around the same people, we do the same things, and we're are all in the same classes. Almost. So how come she won't give me the time of day, yet she hangs on to Remus' every word?"  
  
"Maybe she likes him," Sirius said, half-heartedly.  
  
James rounded on him, his face as dark as thunder clouds. "You better be joking," he growled.  
  
Sirius gulped. "No, no, I meant as a friend. Maybe she likes him as a friend, you know?"  
  
"Well, of course she does," James answered, matter of factly. Sirius shook his head at how fast James' mood changed when it came to Evans. "If she didn't, then she wouldn't talk to him all the time."  
  
"Yeah," Sirius sighed. "Plus there's the fact that they're both prefects."  
  
"Uh huh," James nodded. "Yeah, that, too."  
  
"Right," Sirius said.  
  
"They spent a lot of time together," James added darkly. "Makes me kinda suspicious."  
  
"Of Remus!?" Sirius asked, surprised. James nodded. Sirius laughed. "I don't think you have to worry. This is Remus Lupin we're talking about. He knows Evans is strictly off-limits."  
  
*_*  
  
Remus Lupin pinned Lily Evans to the empty classroom wall with his body as he kissed her feverishly. She returned the kiss with just as much ardor, surprising him and herself. His hands explored her body, as his tongue explored her mouth.  
  
Lily was something way more than surprised. They had been patrolling the school, prefect duty, when Remus suddenly spotted the empty classroom and the door standing wide open. They both agreed that that was pretty suspicious-looking, and when they stepped inside, Remus had attacked her. To say she was shocked would have been an understatement.  
  
She suddenly pushed him away, embarrassed. "What are you doing?" she panted.  
  
He looked as embarrassed as she felt. "I'm s-sorry," he stammered. "I-I shouldn't . . . I j-just . . . it's - " He paused and took a deep breath. "We should go," he said, avoiding her eyes.  
  
She didn't answer partly because she was confused, and partly because she was still too shocked to say anything.  
  
They both walked back to the Gryffindor common room in silence.  
  
-_-  
  
James was lounging on his bed that night. "Okay, how about if I try a love potion or something?"  
  
Sirius clicked his teeth. "No good. She'll see right through it."  
  
"Come off it! You can't see through a love potion!" James exclaimed. "Can you, Remus?"  
  
"Oh, I-I don't know," Remus mumbled.  
  
James and Sirius exchanged looks. "Hey, Remus, you did put in a good word for me with Evans like I asked you to, right?"  
  
"Yeah," Remus said. "Sure I did." He covered himself up with the covers.  
  
"Well?" James demanded, looking across the now darkened room. "What did you say to her?"  
  
"Stuff," Remus muttered.  
  
"What kind of stuff?" he asked, exasperatedly.  
  
"I dunno, Prongs. Listen, I'm real tired. Can't we talk about this in the morning, or something?"  
  
James sighed loudly. "Can't you just tell me a little bit of what she said?"  
  
"She didn't say much," Remus said. "G'nite." He rolled over and covered his head with the pillow.  
  
James shook his head. "Sometimes you guys are absolutely useless."  
  
*_-  
  
Lily blushed as she looked at herself in the mirror the next morning. She was the first one up, as usual. But today was different. Remus Lupin had kissed her. Remus Lupin had actually . . . She sighed. "Why did he do that?" she whispered, staring at herself.  
  
She had come to the conclusion a long time ago that there was absolutely nothing special about her. Sure, her eyes were a brilliant shade of green, and to a lot of guys she was pretty, but . . . that was it. Her hair was nothing special. There were plenty of girls who had red hair in the world. Maybe not exactly her shade of red, but . . . Lily grinned. Who cared anyway? Remus had kissed her!  
  
She tried on a million different outfits before settling on a yellow tank top with some dark denim jeans. Then, for once in her life, she actually put on earrings. She brushed her hair so that it hung long down her back, wavy and it stopped at her waist. Then, she pulled on her white tennis shoes and smiled at her reflection.  
  
By the time she was finished, her roommates were all grumbly and irritated. They stopped grumbling when they saw her however. One of them, Emmeline, just stared. Another of them, Lana, grinned, "Go Lily! Go Lily!" Lily just blushed again, and disappeared from the room.  
  
Once she was actually out in the actual hallway, she stopped. What was she doing, dressing up for Remus? Sure, she liked him, but . . . He would know she dressed up for him. She frowned. What if she was being too forward? What if yesterday was nothing but a mistake?  
  
Lily shook her head. "No," she whispered to herself. "You don't kiss someone by mistake." Even so, she walked downstairs hesitantly, and practically crept into the common room.  
  
"Hey, Evans! Whazzup?"  
  
Lily stopped and turned toward the voice. James Potter and Sirius Black were sitting in chairs in front of the fire, though they were sitting on them wrongly. Strangely, Lily couldn't find the heart to tell them off.  
  
"Hi," she said, grinning back, and giving a little wave. She glanced around (and missed the shocked look James and Sirius shared), but didn't see Remus anywhere. Or Peter for that matter. (A/N: but who cares about him? He sux!) "Have you seen Remus?" she asked, hesitantly.  
  
James eyes visibly narrowed. "Why?" he said suspiciously. "What do you want with Remus?"  
  
"Prefect duty," she snapped. She turned back to Sirius. "Is he in his dorm?"  
  
"Nope," Sirius said. "Great Hall."  
  
"Who?" A squeaky voice said from behind all of them. They turned to face Peter. "Remus?" the stupid boy asked. (A/N: sorry bout that, but I really can't stand him)  
  
"Yeah," Sirius replied. "Hey, Evans, we're going down to the Great Hall. You wanna come?"  
  
"Sure, why not?" Lily said, glancing at James. He was smirking at her. She suppressed the urge to stick out her tongue. He really irked her sometimes. Instead of sticking out her tongue, though, she merely led the way out of the portrait.  
  
Which is why she didn't notice James grin behind her.  
  
@_@  
  
Ok, how'd u like it? It's just for starts, so say so if you want it continued! REVIEW!!! Please and thank you!  
  
Ariana S. 


	2. confessions and a bad idea

Something Like Deception  
  
Disclaimer: idea is mine, most characters are not  
  
Chapter 2 - confessions and a bad idea  
  
Remus froze at the sight of her. She was coming through the doors of the Great Hall. And she looked beautiful. It was enough to make a guy choke on his food.  
  
She hadn't spotted him yet. Remus was panicking. What if she said something about the kiss? In front of James? He stood up and walked in between the tables, keeping his head down.  
  
"Hey, Moony!" Sirius shouted.  
  
Remus cursed under his breath. Now she had spotted him. Reluctantly, he walked over to his friends.  
  
"Hey," he said. He nodded at Lily, avoiding her questioning eyes.  
  
"You finished already?" James asked, skeptically. Moony wasn't exactly a fast eater. He was more the leisurely type of eater - the one everyone always waited on because he insisted on chewing all of his food.  
  
Remus nodded again, and glanced at Lily, who was now trying not to look at him. He felt himself blush. 'Why did she have to look so pretty?' he thought.  
  
"Then you can go talk to Lily about your prefect business, or whatever," Sirius said. "We'll meetcha in Hogsmeade later then, bye."  
  
Remus silently followed Lily to the library. He watched as she quickly checked around. Then he followed her behind some aisles until she stopped.  
  
She turned around and looked at him. "Well, um, you know this isn't prefect business," she said, nervously.  
  
Remus nodded. He was suddenly unable to speak. He was like a deer caught in headlights, except that he was caught in the brightness of her eyes.  
  
She was gazing at him expectantly. Remus stared back. "I - uh," he swallowed. Now he wanted to kiss her. Again. He took a step backwards trying to gain control of his feelings.  
  
"Remus, I - " she stopped, blushing fiercely. "I think I . . . need an, um . . . uh . . ."  
  
"Explanation?" Remus whispered. Lily nodded, staring at the ground.  
  
*_*  
  
James stared after them, shaking his head. "I really don't get it!" he exclaimed. He turned on Sirius. "She even talked to you this morning!"  
  
Sirius grinned. "Well, what can I say? I cast a spell on women."  
  
"A spell, huh?" James said, raising his eyebrows. He crossed his arms. "What spell? The spell of blindness so they can't tell who they're snogging?" He and Peter cracked up laughing.  
  
"Very funny," Sirius said, sourly. "Shame ya can't put a spell on Evans. Then she wouldn't be able to tell if she was talking to you or Remus."  
  
James eyes widened. "Padfoot! Switching spells!"  
  
Sirius stared at him, dumbfounded. "What?"  
  
"What if I got Remus to switch bodies with me? Just for a day? Remus could woo her so much that when we switch back, she'll be hopelessly in love with me!" James finished, grinning.  
  
Sirius grinned also. "Excellent idea, Prongs!"  
  
Peter shook his head. "But what if Remus doesn't want to switch?" he asked.  
  
James took on a worried expression. "He will," he replied, rather unconvincingly. "Forget the trip to Hogsmeade, guys. Let's go to the library to find the right spell."  
  
-_-  
  
"Well, um, I-I like you," Remus stammered. He stared at the ground, then realized that staring at the ground didn't make him seem very confident. He forced himself to look up in her eyes.  
  
"You do?" she said, her own eyes widening. She suddenly blushed. "I l-like you, too," she whispered.  
  
"Really?" he said, wondrously. She nodded, and then his face broke into a grin. "Excellent," he whispered. "Be my girlfriend?"  
  
Lily nodded, her face flaming until it was almost as dark red as her hair. Remus leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips. "I did it right this time," he said, softly, and she grinned against his lips. This was perfect - this was heaven.  
  
-_*  
  
"Wouldn't it be in the restricted section?" James asked. He looked around. There was no one in the library. Even Madam Pince was nowhere to be seen.  
  
"Yeah, probably," Sirius agreed. "You can sneak in there."  
  
"Me?" James said, raising his eyebrows. "Alone?"  
  
"Yeah," Sirius said, smiling. "I'll keep a lookout."  
  
Sirius had been sitting down for about fifteen minutes when he saw Evans and Remus emerge from somewhere in the back of the library. He almost fell over, and he saw that they looked equally surprised. Also, were they . . . holding hands?  
  
"Sirius!" Remus exclaimed. "What are you doing here? Where's James?"  
  
"Uh, nothing," Sirius said. "I dunno." He tilted his head toward Evans. Remus didn't seem to get the message, but Evans did. And she glared at him.  
  
"Bye, Remus. See you later," she said. And then she flounced out of the library.  
  
"What were you doing here?" Sirius asked.  
  
Remus turned red. "Prefect stuff," he muttered. "What about you?"  
  
Sirius' eyes glowed. "Something much more important. Wait until James comes out. I'm sure he wants to tell you."  
  
A few minutes later, James came jogging out of the restricted section, holding a book in his hands. He was grinning and his grin widened when he saw Remus.  
  
"Remus, Remus, Remus," James said. "Just the person I wanted to see."  
  
@_@  
  
k, I needed to get these chapters out of the way, the real fun begins next chapter . . . please REVIEW! And if you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them. I'm open to new ideas.  
  
Ariana S. 


	3. doubts, regret, and stranger feelings

Something Like Deception  
  
Disclaimer: ideas mine, characters you recognize are not  
  
Chapter 3 - doubts, regret, and stranger feelings  
  
"No," Remus said. He was more stunned than anything.  
  
"Awww, Moony! Why not?" James whined.  
  
"It's dishonest!" Remus retorted. His heart was pounding like mad. This was a crazy idea. He couldn't switch bodies with James! At least, not now, anyway . . .  
  
"Dishonest, smishonest," Sirius said, flicking his hand. "It doesn't matter. She'll fall in love with James, and everyone will live happily ever after, like in those Muggle fairy tales."  
  
'Everyone except me,' Remus thought, gloomily. He shook his head again. "Nothing doing," he said firmly. "No way, and besides she wouldn't really be falling in love with James. She'd be falling in love with me in James' body."  
  
"Well, that's the point, isn't it? To make her fall for my body?" James interrupted. "We could deal with personality changes after we switch back."  
  
Sirius nodded in agreement.  
  
"But what about my werewolf state?" Remus said.  
  
At this, both James and Sirius grinned, much to Remus' disappointment.  
  
"We thought you might bring that up," James said. "So we checked your chart. You just transformed two weeks ago. You have two weeks until you have to transform again."  
  
'Damn,' Remus swore silently. 'Think Moony, think!' "Wait, what makes you think Lily can fall in love in one day?" he asked, quietly.  
  
James and Sirius grew quiet and looked at each other. 'Aha!' Remus thought, gleefully. Sirius laughed nervously. "Oh, come on, Moony, we've heard the girls talking about you. You've got 'charisma.'"  
  
Remus crossed his arms. "No," he stated, firmly. His body was burning in guilt. 'I'm a horrible friend,' he thought. The two guys sighed in defeat, and Remus felt somewhat relieved, which made him feel even worse. It wasn't so much that he didn't want to be James - it was just that he didn't want to James to be him . . . alone with Lily.  
  
*_*  
  
Lily grinned to herself. She was a bubble of bliss floating around Hogsmeade. Twice, she had bumped into someone, and she didn't even notice the nasty looks they threw her way.  
  
'Remus, Remus, Remus,' she thought, sighing. Lily grinned again. It was as if she had fallen in love overnight, but she knew deep down that she hadn't. Out of all the guys at Hogwarts, Remus was the kindest, the sweetest, the most honest . . . and possibly the best kisser.  
  
She definitely hadn't fallen in love overnight. She'd known all these things since first year (with the exception of the kiss) and she had had a crush on him since third year. When she found out this year that he was the other prefect, her stomach had done some kind of happy flop.  
  
"It's been five years," she whispered. "Five years we've known each other, and this year we finally admit that we like each other."  
  
She smiled at a passing kid with a lolly. She remembered those Muggle commercials, "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop?" Then, she thought up her own question:  
  
"How long does it take to fall in love?"  
  
-_-  
  
"Doesn't polyjuice potion usually take forever?" Sirius asked. They had left Remus and went up to their dorm.  
  
James nodded. "Yeah, that's why I'm aging it."  
  
"You're going to age a potion?" Sirius asked, raising one eyebrow.  
  
"Yeah. Why not?" James said, looking up from the spellbook he was reading.  
  
Sirius shrugged. "I don't think it's been done before."  
  
"Cool. We'll be the first to do it, then," James grinned. "Tomorrow morning, we'll slip some into his pumpkin juice, or his water."  
  
"It'll be finished by tomorrow morning?" Sirius asked, surprised.  
  
"Hopefully. At the latest, tomorrow afternoon," James said. He sighed. "I can't wait until Evans is in my arms."  
  
*_-  
  
Remus watched her, a worried expression on his face. He was outside and the students in Hogsmeade were returning, one by one. Lily was the last, and (he noted) the most beautiful girl there. He chided himself silently. 'This is wrong,' he told himself. 'You're a dreadful friend. How will you ever explain this to James?'  
  
"Remus?" a soft voice broke him out of his thoughts. He focused on the face in front of him, then smiled when he realized it was Lily. "Why are you sitting on the ground?"  
  
'Waiting for you to return from Hogsmeade, Lily,' he thought, 'so I can see your gorgeous face the moment you arrived back. Plus, I'm going crazy without you near me at all times.' He smiled. That was way pathetic. It was something Sirius or James might say to a fling. The smile disappeared. James . . .  
  
"Everyone's gone inside," she said, shivering a bit. Then she blushed a bit and smiled. "Though we could stay out here if you like."  
  
He climbed to his feet slowly, then reached out and lightly stroked her cheek. "You're cold," he replied. "We should go in."  
  
"Okay," she said happily, reaching out to hug him. He hugged her back and fought a smile. He had no right to smile. 'What will James say?' he thought. Another thought struck him and he suddenly pulled away from her. She looked up at him, clearly confused.  
  
"Did you-?" he paused. Then he asked hesitantly, "Did you tell anyone about us?"  
  
Lily stared up at him. He could practically see the wheels turning in her head. Her eyes were calculating the meaning of his sentence.  
  
"No," she finally answered.  
  
Remus breathed a small sigh of relief. 'Whew,' he thought.  
  
"Why?" she asked, her eyes intent upon him.  
  
He flinched and looked up at her. Now, what was he supposed to say? 'Well, let's see, my best friend is in love with you, also, and if he found out about us, I would break his heart?' Fat chance!  
  
"It's all so soon," he said, avoiding her eyes and wishing he was a better liar.  
  
"I see," she replied. "So you don't want me to tell anyone?"  
  
He shook his head, still avoiding her gaze. "Please, don't."  
  
"I won't, but . . . we're officially 'together' now?" she asked hopefully.  
  
Remus nodded, glancing up at her to see if she'd be angry or anything. Surprisingly, she was grinning at him. This made him automatically grin back.  
  
"I suppose it'll be sort of romantic," she said, thoughtfully. "In a moonlighted, secret sort of way."  
  
"Moonlighted?" he asked, curiously.  
  
Lily blushed. "Well, sort of. It's just that when I think of romance, I think of walks hand-in-hand under the full moon. It's kinda stupid, I know, but it's a fantasy of mine."  
  
Remus stared at her. 'How ironic,' he thought, sadly. 'The one thing she wants to do with me, and I'll never be able to do it with her.'  
  
They held hands walking back up to the castle, and a small part of him thought, 'But James could.'  
  
(A/N: how screwed up is that, huh? lol)  
  
-_*  
  
Remus had been painfully aware of Sirius and James staring at him all day. For some reason, they were both being extra-nice, too. This was suspicious in itself. However, whenever he asked them what was going on, they just smiled at him, mysteriously, and refused to answer.  
  
He finally couldn't take it anymore when he downed his water and they were practically drilling holes into him from the staring.  
  
"For pity's sake, what?" he said, irritably.  
  
He watched as they gave each other confused looks and then turned back to him.  
  
"Nothing," Sirius said, sounding surprised. "Nothing at all."  
  
Remus felt the inside of this mouth with his tongue. 'Was it just me?' he thought. 'Or did that water taste a tad . . . strange?'  
  
"Did you two do something to my drink?" he asked sternly.  
  
"Apparently not," James said, sounding just as surprised as Sirius had.  
  
Remus shook his head and stood up. "I'm feeling a bit tired. Come up to the dorm and wake me up for classes in about twenty minutes," he said. 'Strange,' he thought. His legs seemed to get heavier with each step he made toward the common room. Soon he could barely walk.  
  
He mumbled the password - "couch tomato" - and stumbled into the common room, barely remembering to close the portrait behind him. He could hardly keep his eyes open.  
  
'I'll just take a nap on the couch, then,' he thought. However, before he could lay himself on the couch, he collapsed on it, his knees giving way. And before he could register that he had fallen, his mind went blank and everything faded away.  
  
@_@  
  
interesting drowsiness, eh? I thought so, too, when I was writing it - lol. I was actually surprised people liked this fic. I don't think I'd normally read something like this myself, but, hey, just goes to show people's tastes differ. And since you guys seem to think it's so great, this chapter is for you. And if you review, I'll add another chapter, maybe.  
  
By the way, on fictionpress.com, my penname is Fade Away, though I haven't submitted anything yet. I just recently discovered the site. But when I do, I'll make sure to mention it.  
  
Ariana S. 


	4. deceiving appearances and hurt feelings

Something Like Deception  
  
Disclaimer: it's not mine unless J.K. wants it to be, & so far she hasn't said anything to me about it  
  
Chapter 4 - deceiving appearances and hurt feelings  
  
Lily Evans was a wreck. Remus had been missing all day, and when she tried to ask James and Sirius about it, they gave her blank, worried looks. She glumly told the fat lady the password and stepped into the common room.  
  
'Potter?' she thought. He was asleep on one of the couches. 'That's weird. I swear I just saw him in the Great Hall.' She bit her lip, then went over and tapped him on the shoulder.  
  
"Potter!" she hissed.  
  
He woke up with a start. 'His glasses are missing,' she thought, vaguely. He stared at her in shock. "Lily!" he said. "Wh-what time is it? Did classes start yet?"  
  
Lily stared at him. "Lily?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Are we on a first-name basis now? And what are you talking about? Classes started ages ago. Dinner's almost over."  
  
His eyes opened wide. "What!?" he said, jumping up. "I missed classes!? All of them!?"  
  
Lily stared at him again. "What are you talking about, Potter? You were there!"  
  
He started to shake his head. "No, I - " He stopped suddenly, and stared at her. "Potter?" he repeated. "Potter?"  
  
Lily continued to stare at him. His eyes opened wider and he stared at her like he had never seen her before. Realization dawned on his face. "James Potter?" he asked hoarsely. "I'm James Potter?"  
  
Lily glared at him. "Honestly, I don't know why I waste my time on you, Potter. Where's Remus? What have you done to him?"  
  
James took a deep breath, and shook his head. "You don't understand. I'm - "  
  
Before he could finish, the portrait door swung open and Sirius Black walked in.  
  
*_*  
  
Sirius spit out the goblet of pumpkin juice he was carrying. (A/N: is that all they drink?) "James!?" he exclaimed. "But - "  
  
James shook his head violently. Sirius' eyes widened in realization.  
  
"NO BLOODY WAY!" he exclaimed. His eyes fell upon Lily, and he grinned nervously. "Oh, hello, Evans. Didn't see you there!"  
  
Lily was glaring at both of them, suspiciously. "Where's Remus?" she repeated, in a low voice.  
  
Sirius glanced at James (whom he now realized was Remus) and grinned. "Oh, around," he replied off-handedly.  
  
Lily huffed. "You're his friends! He's been missing all day! Don't you care where he is!?" she exclaimed.  
  
Sirius shrugged. Remus/James closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Lily - "  
  
"Stop calling me Lily!" she hissed. She stalked toward the portrait door, and threw a dirty look back that made Sirius grin and Remus/James flinch.  
  
-_-  
  
"S-So you're telling me that you put the damn potion in my drink anyway!?" Remus/James shouted later in the common room.  
  
The real James blanched. "Uh, sorry?" he said sheepishly.  
  
"SORRY!? SORRY!?" Remus/James yelled. "You idiots! I don't want to be James Potter!"  
  
"Remus! Someone might hear you!" Sirius said. When Remus/James gave him a look that could rival Lily's, he added, "And besides, it'll wear off in an hour or two."  
  
"That's not the point!" Remus/James yelled. "I said, no! Do you realize I've missed all of my classes!? How am I supposed to make all of this up!? And I'm sure Lily's not the only person who realized I was missing."  
  
James and Sirius glanced at each other. "Yeah, we know," James said quietly. "And we're really sorry." Sirius nodded in agreement.  
  
Remus/James sank down on his bed in shock. "And your vision is terrible," he mumbled, closing his eyes. James grinned.  
  
"Hey, uh, Moony? Now that you're me, you don't suppose you could have a word with Evans, do you?" James asked.  
  
Remus opened his eyes in shock. "What?" he snapped. "Please tell me you're joking!"  
  
James smiled hesitantly. "Please?"  
  
Before Remus could say no, a knock sounded on their dormitory door.  
  
Sirius looked from one James to the other and opened the door a crack. "Yes?" he peered out. Remus and James strained to hear who the person was on the other side of the door.  
  
"This isn't funny anymore," a hoarse Lily Evans was saying.  
  
'Had she been crying?' Remus thought. Guilt shot through him at the thought of him being the cause of her unhappiness. He shot another nasty look at James. James, however, was paying no attention, whatsoever.  
  
"Where is he, Sirius? I must've searched the whole castle," Lily continued, tersely.  
  
"I'm sure you didn't search the whole castle," Sirius said, smoothly. "Maybe he's running around outside somewhere."  
  
Lily was quiet for a moment. "He's avoiding me, isn't he?" she finally said in a defeated voice.  
  
At this, Remus/James jumped up and ran across the room, opening the door a little wider. "Lil - " Sirius elbowed him. "Evans!" he said, breathlessly.  
  
Lily had started to walk down the hallway, but she turned at the sound of his (or rather, James') voice. Remus stopped when he saw that she looked like she was about to cry. His heart ripped in two.  
  
"Evans . . ." Remus started, then he discovered he had no idea what to say. He was now a person that she disliked, contrary to yesterday when she was kissing him. "Uh, I'm - I'm sure he's not avoiding you," he said, lamely.  
  
Lily quickly wiped away a tear that was threatening to fall. "Where is he, then?" she asked, searching his eyes.  
  
Remus fought the urge to kiss her. 'Merlin, she looks beautiful with a tear- streaked face,' he thought. 'She must have been crying earlier.'  
  
Remus suppressed his thoughts. "I d-don't know," he stammered.  
  
Lily gave him a tight smile. "Sure, you don't," she said as snappishly as she could manage. "You know, you're a horrible liar, Potter." She started to walk away again, and Remus, with a heavy heart, could do nothing, but let her go.  
  
*_-  
  
James grinned. "She smiled at you?" he said, excitedly. "Well, I mean, me?"  
  
Remus nodded, miserably. 'I should've told her,' he thought. But he couldn't. If he had told her that he was really Remus using Polyjuice Potion, then she'd want to know why. And if he told her that James had a crush on her and wanted to use Remus to woo her, then James would kill him. Plus, she might've let slip that she was dating him. Remus shuddered. 'And what a nightmare that would be,' he thought, feeling guilty again.  
  
"How long that you keep this going?" Sirius' voice interrupted him.  
  
Remus jumped and his face reddened. "Pardon?" he said.  
  
"This thing you have with Evans," Sirius said.  
  
Remus simply stared at him in awe. 'How did he know?'  
  
"You know, the ability to make her fall in love with you?" Sirius said. "How long would it take? Do you think you could pull off being James until Wednesday?"  
  
"Today's Monday!" Remus exclaimed.  
  
"Right, so you'll really only have all day tomorrow to be him," Sirius said.  
  
"No!" Remus said hotly. "Besides, who would be me?"  
  
"Ta da!" James, or rather Remus Lupin wearing a pair of glasses, came out of the bathroom and began to twirl around.  
  
Remus stared in shock. He was literally speechless - speechless and dumbfounded.  
  
"Guess I won't need these!" James said happily, snatching off his glasses and tossing them toward Remus. They landed in Remus' lap.  
  
Sirius grinned, looking from Remus to James and back again.  
  
"I must say, it doesn't feel as bad to be you as I thought it would," James said with a wide-eyed expression never before seen on Remus' face. Sirius cracked up. James ran a hand through his hair, thoroughly messing it up. "Oops!" he said. Sirius fell to the floor, his face contorted with laughter.  
  
"No," Remus croaked. "This is not funny."  
  
James yawned. "It's okay, Moony," he said, sleepily. "It'll be over before you - " His eyes suddenly rolled back in his head and he collapsed on the ground.  
  
Sirius ran over to him. "Prongs!" he shouted, turning him over. He sighed with relief a second later, then grinned. James/Remus was snoring.  
  
-_*  
  
Remus sat up and stretched. He smiled. The nightmare was over. Polyjuice Potion wore off in an hour and it being the next morning and all, he was sure to be back in his right body again. He ran a hand through his hair and came a little short.  
  
His eyes widened, then he jumped off his bed and sprinted for the bathroom. He looked into his mirror. "Hello, good-looking!" it said, cheerfully. Remus groaned.  
  
The face of James Harold Potter stared back at him.  
  
@_@  
  
Uh, oh! Polyjuice potion is supposed to wear off in an hour, isn't it? Isn't it? Then, why is remus still not himself? What's going on? WHAT'S HAPPENING!? You shall find out the answers all in the next chapter of "Something Like Deception". Until then, REVIEW if you want more! 


	5. angry outbursts and suspicions

Something Like Deception  
  
Disclaimer: it's not mine unless J.K. gives it to me and I don't want it  
  
Chapter 5 - angry outbursts and suspicions  
  
"Why hasn't the potion worn off yet!?" Remus said to his confused looking friends. He was on the verge of hysterics.  
  
"Moony, calm down . . . maybe, maybe I got the potion wrong, or something . . ." James said, nervously.  
  
Remus glared at him and crossed his arms. "Well, maybe you better fix it. Right now."  
  
Sirius backed away. Neither of them had ever seen Remus this upset before, and Sirius wasn't trying to get hurt.  
  
"Well, you see, um, the thing is . . . I turned it back in to the Restricted Section - " James stammered.  
  
"I DON'T CARE!" Remus yelled. "I want my body back!"  
  
"I-I can't get it back right now . . . Madam Pince will be in there. She won't let me go to the Restricted Section."  
  
"Then, I'm going to Professor Dumbledore," Remus said abruptly. He headed for the door.  
  
A hand grabbed Remus' arm roughly. Remus (in James' body) was jerked around to face an angry looking Sirius. "Don't be stupid," Sirius hissed. "You do realize that if you go to Dumbledore, you'll get Prongs expelled, right?"  
  
"I don't care!" Remus retorted. "I never said I wanted to be involved in your stupid idea in first place! So just bugger off! And let go of me! I'm going to Dumbledore!"  
  
"Fine," Sirius said coldly. "Go tell Dumbledore. Just don't expect me to be there the next time you transform."  
  
Remus stopped, halfway to the door. "What?" he whispered, turning back around to stare at Sirius.  
  
There was a deadened, hollow look in his friend's eyes. Remus shivered involuntarily. "I said, don't expect for me to be there the next time you transform. You remember what happens when you're left alone, don't you? You remember the way you bite and scratch yourself, the way you came back bleeding every time. Bloody and unconscious, poor pathetic little werewolf loner . . ."  
  
"Sirius, stop - " James started to say. His eyes were darting between Remus' tense back and Sirius' hollow, almost evil, stare.  
  
"Wouldn't it be a shame if you came back from the shrieking shack next time with a missing limb? Because in your poor, demonic state, you simply lost control?" Sirius whispered. "Tragedy that would be, eh Moony?"  
  
"Sirius, that's enough!" James said fiercely. "That's enough!"  
  
Remus couldn't take anymore. He ran out of the dorm and down the common room stairs. Ignoring the stares of "Potter's fan club" he burst out of the portrait hole and collided with Lily Evans.  
  
*_*  
  
James (in Remus' body) stared at the door Remus had just run out of. Slowly, his eyes ran across the room until they landed on Sirius, who was staring back at him with a defiant expression.  
  
"What?" Sirius snapped. "What did I do now?"  
  
"That was - mean," James said in a low voice. "It was unlike you."  
  
"So? It was true, wasn't it?" Sirius growled. "He would be nothing without us! You know how he was when we first met back in first year, Prongs. Remus was nothing but a - "  
  
"I don't care, Padfoot!" James retorted. "He's our friend, now, and you owe him an apology."  
  
Sirius laughed nervously. He didn't like the way James was looking at him . . . it was almost as if his best friend was ashamed of him, or something. "Oh, come on, Prongsie, you know I didn't really mean it - "  
  
"Just go apologize," he said softly, staring at the floor.  
  
Sirius sighed. "Fine."  
  
-_-  
  
"Potter . . ." Lily said, softly. "What's the matter?"  
  
Remus sighed. He still couldn't tell Lily. "Nothing," he said, shortly, trying to brush her off. It didn't work.  
  
"Obviously there's something wrong," Lily said, raising her eyebrows. "You wouldn't be crying if there weren't."  
  
"Why do you care about Ja - me, anyway?" Remus said, trying to look her straight in the eye.  
  
To his surprise, Lily blushed. "Well, um . . . I'm a friend of Remus'," she muttered. "And I figure if he likes you guys so much . . . I could try too, I guess."  
  
"Oh," Remus said, for lack of anything better to say. He just stood there awkwardly for a minute. "Um. Can I call you Lily, then?"  
  
She looked surprised, then she smiled. "Sure," she said. "Then, does that mean I can call you James?"  
  
He almost didn't hear her. He was too busy staring at those perfect lips. And how they would feel against his . . . He mentally slapped himself. 'Don't be stupid, Remus! You're supposed to be Prongs right now, remember?'  
  
"Potter?" Lily asked, a hint of worry in her voice.  
  
"Sure . . . Lily. That's fine," he said, smiling shyly at her. It was almost like when they had first met. Remus smiled, remembering the shy conversations they used to have, and how he'd always be on cloud nine for the rest of the day afterwards.  
  
She smiled back, and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. "See you, then," she said, going into the portrait hole that Remus had left open.  
  
"Finally!" the Fat Lady said.  
  
Remus grinned to himself, just imagining . . .for one second, how it would feel to fall in love with Lily Evans all over again.  
  
*_-  
  
James took a deep breath as he mentally prepared himself to approach Evans. 'No, it's Lily, James. Remus calls her by her first name, remember?'  
  
She was surrounded by books and chewing absentmindedly on a piece of her hair. She was completely unaware of her surroundings, and she seemed totally at ease. James smiled. He knew he could never be that relaxed in a library.  
  
"Lily," he said in Remus' soft voice.  
  
Lily spun around to face him. Her face took on a look of hurt. "Hi," she replied, turning back around to her books.  
  
'What would Moony say?' he berated himself. 'Something to do with books, I'm sure.' "Mind if I sit down?" he asked.  
  
Lily shrugged. "I don't own the table," she replied.  
  
James wrinkled up his forehead in confusion. 'Wait. I thought she was always nice to Remus?' "Whatcha readin there?" he tried again.  
  
At this, Lily slammed the book shut. "Fine. Talk. I know you want to say something, and I'm all ears. So go ahead. Start making your excuses."  
  
James stared at her, openmouthed. "Wh-what are you talking about?" he asked, completely dumbfounded.  
  
Lily simply stared at him for about five seconds. Then, she exploded. "I can't believe you!" she said. "Do you have any idea how worried I was about you yesterday!? Do you!? And then, you sit here, like you don't even remember what you did!"  
  
'Oh, right! Yesterday!' James said, mentally hitting himself on the head. 'James Potter, you are a moron.' "Right . . . yesterday," James said, nervously. His hand automatically moved up to his hair and he ruffled it a bit.  
  
Lily narrowed her eyes. 'Oops,' James thought. 'Come on, Prongsie, think!'  
  
"I, uh, yesterday, I was . . ." 'She did say she had searched the entire castle, didn't she?' James thought. Then, he smiled as an idea hit him. "I was in the Room of Requirement!"  
  
"The what?" Lily asked, suspiciously.  
  
"Listen, there's a room inside this castle. It - wait, why am I explaining this to you?" James said, excitedly. "Come on! I'll show it to you!"  
  
"Remus, I'm kind of in the middle of something," Lily said, sighing. She gestured toward her books.  
  
"Oh, but that's so boring! Let's have some fun!" James said. He immediately regretted it by the way she narrowed her eyes at him, again. James smiled, hesitantly. "I-I m-meant, um . . . we always study, don't we? I mean, in this library. We could study somewhere else. Like the Room of Requirement."  
  
Lily continued to glare at him. "I don't know," she finally said. "You haven't even apologized yet."  
  
"I'm sorry," James said, quickly. "Now, let's go! Please?"  
  
Lily sighed. "Fine." Reluctantly, she let him take her hand, and lead her away.  
  
(A/N: somewhere in the middle of all this, they did clean up Lily's books * sigh * details! details!)  
  
-_*  
  
Remus ran a hand through James' hair again. (A/N: that sounded weird, didn't it?) He walked down the hallway. This was impossible! How could he possibly keep his and Lily's relationship a secret now? James was bound to find out in his body, one way or another. And then what would happen?  
  
He walked down the hallway feeling thoroughly miserable, when, "Hey, Prongs!" His own voice, coming out of his own mouth, in his own body was walking down the hallway toward him. He gaped. And his own hand was holding Lily Evans' hand!  
  
"H-Hey," Remus stuttered.  
  
Lily smiled. "Hi . . . James," she said, grinning.  
  
"Lily," he nodded quickly to her, then stared at the real James again. James grinned at him, and he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. 'He knows,' he thought. 'He knows and now he's lording it over me.'  
  
James' smile suddenly widened. "You know what? I think I forgot something up in the dorm. Sorry, Ev - Lily. Wait! Maybe Prongs could show you the Room of Requirement, instead?" He dropped Lily's hand, and practically shoved her toward Remus. Grinning wickedly at them both, he disappeared before either of them had a chance to say anything.  
  
*_*  
  
"So you just left them together in the corridor?" Sirius asked, grinning.  
  
James smiled back. "Yes. Yes I did," he frowned. "I hate the idea of them being alone, but . . . it's for the greater good."  
  
"Yeah," Sirius said. His smile suddenly vanished. "Prongs, I've been thinking - "  
  
"About?" James asked.  
  
"Moony," Sirius said. "I mean, why was he so upset? Two-third of the school's population of guys would kill to be you. Even some of the Slytherin's probably dream about it at night."  
  
"Yeah," James said, smirking. "But Moony's different. Maybe he's afraid I'll tap into his mind or something."  
  
Sirius laughed. "Maybe," he agreed. "Maybe."  
  
@_@  
  
wahhhh! I'm beginning to hate this story! It's not working out the way I want it to, at all! I really have no idea why you guys like it so much. I mean, I like the idea of Remus and James switching bodies, but . . . I have no idea how to make this into what I want it to be. I'm not even sure what I want it to be!  
  
Ariana S. 


	6. a little too much fun

Something Like Deception  
  
Disclaimer: not mine and since you guys really like this story, I've decided to continue it. Yay! It's been so long, tho . . . let's see if I still have that spark.  
  
Chapter 6 – a little too much fun  
  
Lily glanced at James nervously. "So, uh, Pot-James? What's with this whole . . . Room of Requirement place?"  
  
James stared at her. "I-I don't see what the big deal with it is . . . I mean, I like the room and all, but . . . it's not that big a deal."  
  
Lily gave him a quizzical look. "Right. You know, we don't have to go see it if you don't want."  
  
"No, I think we should," James said quickly. "Let's go."  
  
He suddenly grabbed her hand, and pulled her after him, much like Remus had done a few minutes ago. Only . . . this time, it felt more . . . natural. Lily shook her head, violently. NO! What was she thinking? This was Potter! James Potter! Nothing could ever feel natural with him!  
  
She yanked her hand away, and James turned to her, his face taking on a confused expression. "Lily, what's wrong?" he asked, softly.  
  
Lily stared at him, a tinge of red darkening her cheeks. "N-Nothing . . . Um, how much further is this room?"  
  
"Right this way . . . I think," James said, scratching his head. "It was right near . . . uh, this suit of armor, there. Or, here . . . I'm sure it was right over . . ."  
  
Lily sighed. "We're lost, aren't we?" It was more of a statement, than a question.  
  
James sighed, also. "Yes. Yes we are."  
  
(A/N: I called him James here, because it's from Lily's point of view, but it's really Remus. Remember, she has no idea.)  
  
*_*  
  
The real James grinned in the common room. "Remus, can you help me with my homework?" a pretty, blonde-haired girl asked, winking at him saucily.  
  
James winked right back at her, ignoring Sirius's raised eyebrow, and causing the girl to swoon. "Sure can," he said, lowering his (Moony's) voice. "Your dorm room or mine?"  
  
"Yours!" she giggled as a few of her friends looked on enviously.  
  
"Remus, I think I need help with my homework, too!" a brunette said, flipping a piece of her hair behind her ear. She batted her eyelashes at him. "May I join you?"  
  
"Of course. I'd be delighted to have you two join me," James smirked. "Follow me. This way, ladies. Don't trip over each other, now."  
  
The two girls, giggling and flirting shamelessly, followed James, who they believed to be Remus, up the stairs to the Marauders' dorm room.  
  
Sirius rolled his eyes, and took out the Marauders' map, searching for Lily and Remus. Those two had better hurry up, or else James would ruin Remus's entire reputation before the day was out.  
  
*_-  
  
"Ah ha! It's right around this corner, I'm sure of it!" Remus said, grinning.  
  
Lily grinned back and rolled her eyes. "You've said that only about a hundred times or so, Pott-James. Sure this is the right corner?"  
  
"Of course. It has to be, doesn't it?" Remus said. "We've been around every other corner in this school."  
  
Lily laughed. "Can't argue with that."  
  
"Yes! This had to be it! I remember that portrait opposite the door!" Remus said, motioning toward the portrait opposite a blank wall. "Okay, now you just walk back and forth around the corner, thinking – "  
  
"-of some nice place to sit down and study at," Lily finished. "I know. It had better work this time, is all I'm saying."  
  
"It will," Remus said, smiling. She looked oh-so-gorgeous when she smiled. He wished he could kiss her right now, but of course he couldn't. Not while he was in James's body, anyway.  
  
He watched her walk back and forth around the corner, and smiled when a door appeared opposite of the portrait.  
  
"Hey! You did it!" he said, grinning.  
  
"Yes, I did," she smiled. "Ready to go in?"  
  
"Ladies first," Remus said.  
  
"Well, in that case . . ." Lily stood back and beckoned him forward.  
  
"Hey!" Remus said, feigning anger. "I'm not a lady!"  
  
"You say it like it's a bad thing," Lily said. "Come on, James. Haven't you ever wanted to put on a dress?"  
  
"I hope not!" Remus said, shuddering at the thought of James in a dress. Lily was looking at him strangely. "I mean, no! I've never wanted to put on a dress!"  
  
Lily grinned and winked. "Sure, you haven't," she said, sauntering in the room before him.  
  
He smiled and went in after her, then stopped staring in shock. "What's all this!?" he exclaimed.  
  
She crept around him and shut the door, locking both of them in. "This, Mr. Potter, is our timeless getaway from the wizarding world."  
  
Remus turned and stared at Lily. What exactly did she have on her mind?  
  
(A/N: wouldn't you like to know?)  
  
-_*  
  
Sirius ran upstairs to the dorm room and pulled the door open to find one girl kissing "Remus" square on the lips, and the other one . . . he didn't even want to know what she was doing!  
  
"Remus!" Sirius said, angrily. "This has gone on long enough!"  
  
The girls and James both jumped a mile. Then, they scrambled around, grabbing their clothes and ran out of the dorm.  
  
"Oh, come on, Siri, I was just havin' a bit of fun!" James said, his lips smeared with one of the girls' lipstick.  
  
Sirius glared at him. "You mean Remus was having a bit of fun with them! How do you know he isn't a virgin, huh? Don't you think he'd want to experience his own first time, rather than have you experience it for him? Come on, James, where's your head!?"  
  
James mumbled something unintelligible. "Sorry."  
  
"Don't apologize to me!" Sirius said. "You were the one yelling at me about Remus earlier, and how we should be his friends. Why don't you go fix the problem? Put a memory charm on them, or something?"  
  
"Okay. Okay, I will," James said. "Just . . . don't tell Remus, okay?"  
  
"I'd die before I'd tell Remus," Sirius said, shaking his head. He was beginning to think that this whole thing was a bad idea. He hoped it would all be over soon.  
  
@_@  
  
kind of short, I know, but I need to get back into the groove of the story, the feel of it. Okay, now get to reviewing and tell me if I've gotten back into the groove yet. Please.  
  
Ariana S. 


	7. dishonest thoughts and rising tempers

Something Like Deception  
  
Disclaimer: still not mine, and hey! Another chapter!  
  
Chapter 7 – dishonest thoughts and rising tempers  
  
"Lily . . . what is this?" Remus said, breathlessly. He looked around the room in awe. There were . . . machines with lights. So many lights. And there were buttons on the machines. Some of the machines were even making sounds!  
  
"It's called an ar-cade," Lily pronounced, slowly. "Calm down. It's nothing dangerous. Just a muggle thing."  
  
"Ar-cade?" Remus said, still in awe. "How . . . does it work?" He tore his gaze away from the arcade to glance at her face. She was beaming.  
  
"I'll show you!" she said, pulling him over to the nearest . . . arcade machine.  
  
Remus watched in fascination as she positioned herself in front of the machine. She put her hands on either side, and then she suddenly clapped her hands together.  
  
"No money! Alright!" she turned to him and gave him a super grin. "See, usually, you would have to pay money to play this, but I guess Hogwarts doesn't think like that! I bet this stuff doesn't even run on electricity. Nope! Look! No wires! Incredible!"  
  
Remus took a deep breath. "Yeah. Incredible," he said, eyebrows raised.  
  
She laughed. "James! Don't look so scared. It's just a bunch of games! Come closer. I'll show you how to use them . . ."  
  
*_*  
  
"Well? Where are they, Sirius? They've been gone for two hours!" James said, almost hysterically.  
  
"Room of Requirement," Sirius said, glancing nonchalantly at the map.  
  
"Still!?" James exclaimed. "What would they do for TWO WHOLE HOURS!?"  
  
Sirius shrugged, not wanting to voice his opinion. James gasped. "He wouldn't! Not Moony!"  
  
Sirius shrugged again.  
  
"I'm going to go get them!"  
  
"You can't," Sirius said, indifferently.  
  
"Why the bloody hell not!?" James glared at him.  
  
"Think. How would it look if Remus went barging in on them? She might start to get ideas. She might get suspicious," Sirius said. "Come on, Prongs. You're the one who wanted them to have alone time, so let them have alone time!"  
  
"But what if he - ?"  
  
"You're the only one around here who's even the slightest bit attracted to Evans," Sirius interrupted. He suddenly gulped, immediately regretting what he had said. "I-I mean – "  
  
"What's that supposed to mean!? Lily Evans is extremely attractive!" James yelled.  
  
"Come on, James! You know I didn't mean - !"  
  
"I don't know what you meant," James snapped. "All I know is, that boy is alone with my girl! And they've been alone for too long." Angrily, James yanked open the dormitory door, Remus's long hair dangling in his eyes. He brushed it out, impatiently.  
  
"Well? Are you coming, Padfoot?" James demanded, stopping in the doorframe.  
  
Sirius stared at him. "I think I'll stay here, thanks. I'm sure you can expose the secret by yourself just fine."  
  
"I'm not going to expose anything. I'm just . . . checking on them is all. That's all it is," James said, exasperately.  
  
"Whatever you call it," Sirius said, shrugging.  
  
James stormed out of the room, and after about a minute, Sirius followed. But he didn't head to the Room of Requirement. Instead, he headed to the library, shaking his head.  
  
"Madness is all it is," he mumbled. "And I need to find an antidote for them before I go mad myself."  
  
*_-  
  
"Kick! Kick, you stupid . . .! Kick him! No, don't! NO!"  
  
"Yes! I win again!" James said, grinning. "I'm sorry, Lily, my dear, but it seems that you simply cannot win against me! I'm undefeatable!"  
  
"You wish," Lily mumbled. "I almost won. You just cheated there on the end."  
  
"Cheated? Me?" James said, still grinning. "Well, if I am cheating, then it's your fault that the machines you thought up are somehow malfunctioning."  
  
Lily glared at him for a minute. His glasses were lopsided, practically falling off of his face, and his hair was damp with sweat, sticking to his forehead. Plus he was grinning like a Cheshire cat. Lily couldn't help it. She suddenly started laughing.  
  
He looked confused for a second, then he smiled. "You know, you're really pretty when you laugh."  
  
Lily abruptly stopped, her cheeks going pink. "What?"  
  
James's eyes suddenly widened, as if he realized what he had said. "I-I, er . . . I-I mean, uhh – " His face was bright red, but hers was even brighter.  
  
"I . . . I think we should go back, now," Lily said, turning toward the door. What was wrong with her? Why was she acting this way? She shook her head. She had a boyfriend! One of his best friends! This was ridiculous. She wasn't even supposed to LIKE James Potter. She shook her head again to clear away the thoughts.  
  
"Yes. Let's go," he said, in a low voice. "Lily?" She turned to look back at him. "Um . . .It was . . . erm, fun, though, wasn't it?"  
  
Lily smiled. "Yes. It was." She turned and started to put a hand on the doorknob, but James gently pushed her hand away, and opened it instead – a very gentlemanly gesture.  
  
"Thank - " The words died on her lips as she came face to face with Remus Lupin standing on the other side of the door.  
  
-_*  
  
James stared at Lily, then Remus, then Lily again. Maybe if he looked hard enough, he could tell what had happened in that room without having to ask them, because now that he was face to face with them, he couldn't think of anything to say.  
  
Lily sighed. "Remus . . ." she said, softly. "It's not what you think."  
  
James stared at her. She was talking to him, yes, but what was she talking about? Why wasn't it what he thought? It was supposed to be what he thought! But he had come to the Room of Requirement because he was jealous and he wanted to stop it from being what he thought it was. Then again, if he stopped it, he . . . James shook his head. He was suddenly very confused.  
  
"I don't know what I think," he mumbled. "I don't even know why I'm down here. Mo – uh, Prongs? I'll see you in the room. Evening Evans. I mean, Lily." He walked away in a state of confusion.  
  
"That was . . . strange," Lily thought aloud. "Remus never . . ." She suddenly seemed to realize that 'James' was still standing next to her, and she jumped. "Oh! Um, goodnight, Potter! I mean, James!"  
  
She ran ahead to her room, so she wouldn't have to walk with Potter. Something felt a little off . . .  
  
-_*  
  
James paced back and forth, waiting for Moony to come in. Sirius was missing, too, but he barely noticed.  
  
Finally, the door to his room opened, and he turned around. Moony.  
  
"Hi, James," Remus said, tiredly. "Goodnight, James." He headed for the bathrooms.  
  
"I don't think so," James said, sharply. "What happened? You were in that room for two hours, Remus! Two hours!"  
  
Remus nodded slowly. "Yes. I suppose we were." He turned away again.  
  
"Well!? What were you doing in there for two whole bloody hours!?" James exclaimed.  
  
Remus turned toward him again. "Honestly, James. Two teenagers in a closed, soundproof, locked room all alone for two entire hours? What do you think we were doing?"  
  
James gaped, his mouth wide open. He seemed unable to form words. "Studying, right?" he finally said, when he had found his breath again. "Tell me you two were studying."  
  
"Right, Prongsie," Remus smiled. "We were 'studying.'"  
  
@_@  
  
hahahahahahaha! I love the ending there! James mind is in the gutter if you ask me . . . and Lily! Looks like she may be starting to suspect something . . .  
  
And hey! If you wanna read another james/remus switching story, read "My Best Friend's Skin" by Indiangurl. It doesn't have many chapters, but it's really good so far! I love it! Heehee – hope she doesn't mind that I'm advertising for her . . .  
  
Ariana S. 


	8. surprise surprise

Something Like Deception  
  
A/N: I'm sorry for not updating sooner, but I'm not going to make excuses like I usually do cuz it's a waste of time, if you ask me.  
  
Disclaimer: no it doesn't belong to me  
  
Chapter Eight – surprise surprise  
  
Sirius stared at book after book and found grossly illustrated pictures of spells gone wrong, but he found nothing on anything going wrong with body switching. In fact, the book that he had originally got the spell from was missing, itself. He flipped through book after book that night, but still found nothing. For the first time in a while, Sirius began to get really worried.  
  
Lily lay awake a long time that night doing nothing but staring up at the ceiling. She had had fun. With James. James Potter, of all people. And Remus – She sighed as she remembered the dejected, confused expression on his face. Did he think she was cheating on him? And why had he pushed her to talk to James, anyway? She had to talk to him. They hadn't really had the chance to talk since . . .  
  
Lily didn't even remember the last time they had just talked. It had been awhile. She frowned. He always seemed to be so busy. "Well, I'll just have to take him away from all that, won't I?" she whispered to herself.  
  
And she vowed to do it tomorrow.  
  
---  
  
Remus awoke before James the following day as he usually did. He dressed and showered as quietly as he could before heading down to breakfast. Sirius and James never stirred. James, in HIS body. Remus felt the familiar feelings of anger rising to the surface. What exactly had they been thinking!?  
  
He entered the Great Hall, still full of fury, and spotted none other than Lily sitting at the Gryffindor table alone. There were a few other students there, too, but Lily was the only Gryffindor. And, Remus smiled, she was also the only one absorbed in a book.  
  
"Hey, Lily," he said softly, not wanting to startle her. She looked up and smiled. "Mind if I sit here?" he asked.  
  
She looked mildly surprised. "Oh, go ahead," she said. "I'm afraid I won't be much company, though." She gestured toward her book.  
  
Remus laughed. "I know the feeling. Sometimes when I'm absorbed in a good book, I – "  
  
He stopped speaking abruptly. She was staring at him with a look of utter disbelief. "You read, Potter? In your free time?" she asked, her eyebrows raised.  
  
Remus blushed deeply. He had completely forgotten! What if he had let something important slip? Stupid, he chided himself. "I, uh, you know, um, the usual school books," he answered, awkwardly. "I mean, everyone has to study them, you know?"  
  
Lily continued to stare at him. "You actually study?" she said.  
  
Remus was starting to get annoyed. "Yes. Ja – I actually study."  
  
Lily blushed. "I'm sorry," she said. "It's just . . . you don't strike me as the studious type. That's more of, um, Remus's department."  
  
Remus stared at her. "What do you mean, Remus's department?" He was curious. What did she REALLY think of him?  
  
For some reason, she seemed to blush even more. "I-I mean. He spends so much time in the library. More than . . . uh, you and Sirius do."  
  
Remus grinned. He decided to have a little fun with her. "That doesn't necessarily mean he's studying, you know," he whispered, leaning across the table.  
  
Lily's eyes widened at this, and she pushed her chair back. "I, um, I don't think I'm hungry anymore. I'll just go back . . . to, uh, the common room and read this, shall I?"  
  
She practically fled the Great Hall, and Remus grinned to himself. Maybe he was starting to get the hang of this. After all, what he just did was a very "James" thing to do.  
  
---  
  
James sauntered down the stairs to the common room. On the last step, he suddenly stopped causing Sirius to run into him. He shook his head. Remus did not saunter. Remus walked. Silently, he went back to the top of the stairs and redid his walk again, while Sirius stared at him like he was crazy.  
  
"Are you okay?" he asked when James reached the bottom.  
  
"Fine. Just perfecting, Remus's – uh, my walk," James said, grinning.  
  
"I think this whole charade is beginning to rot your brain," Sirius said, shaking his head.  
  
"What charade?" Lily asked, approaching them both with a smile.  
  
"What charade?" James repeated. He glanced quickly at Sirius. Sirius shrugged.  
  
Lily rolled her eyes. "Never mind. Remus, can I talk to you?"  
  
"Why?" James asked, bewildered by her sudden mood change. She had a serious look on her face.  
  
"Prefect business," she said, widening her eyes.  
  
"Oh," James said, utterly clueless. He had no idea if he would be able to worm his way out of this one. What if she discovered something, like the fact that he didn't have any idea what being a prefect was all about. "Listen, can't it wait? I'm sorry, but I'm really hungry."  
  
A hurt expression crossed her face. For a second she just stared at him. Then, she said in a cold voice, "Fine."  
  
James faltered, uneasy by her abrupt coldness. "If . . . If you really want to talk now – "  
  
"No, don't worry about me. I'll be fine," she interrupted. Throwing him a mean look, she stomped up the common room stairs.  
  
Sirius sighed. "You should know better, James," he said, quietly. "Nothing comes between those two and their prefect duties. That's probably the whole foundation of their friendship."  
  
James stared at him. "Since when did you get so . . . insightful?"  
  
"Since I've stayed in my own body," Sirius said, grinning. "My brain isn't addled, unlike yours."  
  
James shook his head. "I just don't understand her, that's all."  
  
---  
  
Lily avoided him all of the following week. In fact, she avoided all of the Marauders, except possibly Sirius, who could be found in the library at any free hour of the day, and in between all of his classes, as James and Remus still hadn't switched back. But since Lily went there all the time, no one could be sure if she ever spoke to Sirius or not.  
  
When James pestered Sirius to find out what was up with Lily, Sirius merely held up his hands and said he wasn't getting caught up in it any further than he had to be. He was, surprisingly, the only Marauder who was actually acting sane lately. James was locked on to Lily's every move, and Peter had taken up an obsession with salamanders for some odd reason.  
  
Remus was worried. If the charts were right, his next transformation was next week. What if the spell wasn't off of them by then? What if . . .? He shuddered. What if James had to transform for him? Then again, what if he transformed in James's body? He was scared. The shooting pains were due to start in his stomach any time now, and the headaches would be along right after that, but so far, James hadn't said anything.  
  
"James wouldn't recognize the symptoms, though," Remus muttered to himself. A few students in the class sitting near looked at him strangely, Lily not included. She was purposefully not looking at him lately.  
  
If there was one thing he missed about his body, it was Lily's attraction to it. Well, at least he guessed she was attracted to his body. It was never an actual topic that came up in their conversations. More than that, though, he simply missed her. He missed being around her, missed her smile, missed her laugh, missed her intelligence. There was just so much to her that he couldn't enjoy from a distance.  
  
The bell rang, and Remus continued to sit there in a daze.  
  
"Are you alright, Mr. Potter?" someone said, kindly.  
  
Remus looked down at the sound of the voice, and spotted Professor Flitwick. All of the other students had left already. "Oh . . . Um, I'm fine, Professor," he said, sighing.  
  
"Are you sure?" the Professor persisted. "You've been looking a little upset lately."  
  
"I'm – " Remus paused. "Well . . . I've – I've got a friend, and uh, I really like her a lot, but I did something . . . and there's a secret, but I can't tell her. And, um, now, I don't know what to do."  
  
Professor Flitwick looked startled at his outburst. Remus supposed that no student had ever really just come out and confided in him like that. The expression on his face would have been funny if Remus hadn't been serious.  
  
"Well, Mr. Potter, I suggest that you talk to this friend of yours that you like so much," Flitwick said, gravely. "Talking is really the best thing you can do in these situations."  
  
"You – You think so?" Remus asked, uncertainly. "I'm not so sure."  
  
"Yes, I'm positive," Flitwick smiled. "Talking is good."  
  
"Alright, if you think so," Remus said, doubtfully. "Thank you, Professor."  
  
"No problem," the tiny professor said, proudly.  
  
Remus took a deep breath as he exited the classroom. Classes were over for the day. It was time to find Lily.  
  
Lily sat in the common room absorbed in her thoughts. Everyone else was at dinner, but Lily had skipped it, deciding to go to the kitchens later in the middle of patrolling/prefect duties. She was thinking so hard that she didn't notice anyone sit down beside her.  
  
"Hey, Lily," a soft voice said.  
  
Lily jumped. "J-James! What are you doing here?" For some reason, she blushed.  
  
"Looking for you," he said, seriously. "How are you?"  
  
"Fine," she said quickly. "I'm fine. Why?"  
  
"I wanted to apologize. If it offended you, what I said the other morning."  
  
"Oh, that," Lily said, blushing deeper.  
  
She was so pretty when she was embarrassed. She was pretty all the time, actually. "Lily," he whispered.  
  
She stared at him. "Yes?"  
  
His heart started to pound. He could feel the blood rushing throughout his body. But he couldn't stop it. He couldn't sit this close to her, and not do anything . . .  
  
He leaned in, his face inching closer and closer to hers. 'I'm sorry, James,' he thought, as his lips descended upon Lily's.  
  
The moment their lips touched, he felt whole again. Something electric sizzled through him, and he kissed her feverishly, almost frantically, as if he couldn't get enough. And it wasn't enough. It wasn't enough that he simply kissed her. He needed to . . . He pushed her down on her back onto the couch. He needed to . . . His tongue hungrily explored her mouth. He needed to . . .  
  
Devour her.  
  
---  
  
Lily shoved him off of her. There was something . . . so strange . . .  
  
She stared at him. There was an apology written all over his face. And something else in his eyes . . . was it fear?  
  
Her heart was hammering. This was James Potter, for Merlin's sake! James – freakin – Potter! "I-I don't understand," she whispered.  
  
"Neither do I," came a voice from the doorway. Lily looked up in terror.  
  
Her boyfriend, Remus Lupin, was standing in the portrait hole doorway.

---  
  
A/N: CAN YOU SAY, "IRONY!?" HAHA! Okay, now I'm starting to enjoy this! I personally cannot wait for the next chapter, and so I hope I write some more soon, but this was just the perfect cliffhanger. Please Review!!! I love it when you do! It makes me want to write more, and I tend not to forget about my stories when people review . . .  
  
Ariana S.


	9. secrets revealed and hints of revenge

Something Like Deception  
  
A/N: i'm on vacation! i'm on vacation! i'm here for two weeks, but if i wait that long to update, i'm sure someone would find it in his/her heart to track me down, stand over me, and glare while i write the next chapter to this story. i don't want that to happen, so here it is, the next chapter! voila!  
  
Disclaimer: i saw harry potter POA yesterday at the movies, and since i was surprised by some of the extra stuff that they put into the movie, i think it's safe to assume that it doesn't belong to me. (i loved it, by the way! draco is so hot!)  
  
Chapter Nine - secrets revealed and hints of revenge  
  
Lily shoved him off of her. There was something . . . so strange . . .  
  
She stared at him. There was an apology written all over his face. And something else in his eyes . . . was it fear?  
  
Her heart was hammering. This was James Potter, for Merlin's sake! James - freakin - Potter! "I-I don't understand," she whispered.  
  
"Neither do I," came a voice from the doorway. Lily looked up in terror.  
  
Her boyfriend, Remus Lupin, was standing in the portrait hole doorway.  
  
---  
  
Remus suddenly broke into a smile, much to Lily's confusion. "I didn't know you and Prongs were dating, Lily! Why didn't you say something?"  
  
Lily just stared at him. Was he serious? Was he really and truly SERIOUS? When he said he wanted to keep it a secret . . . did he really care more about keeping the secret, than keeping Lily herself? And if it was okay for Lily to be kissing one of his best friends, was it okay for Remus to be kissing other people, too? Lily's eyes widened. Or was this all just another charade?  
  
"I'm n-not - " Lily glanced at James. He was looking miserable. But, why? What was the matter with everyone?  
  
"Oh, this is so stupid!" she suddenly cried, bursting into tears. "I hate you both!"  
  
Lily jumped up off of the couch, and ran for the girls' stairs, completely missing the look of bewilderment on Remus' face.  
  
---  
  
"It was all going so well!" James wailed, later that night in the boys' dormitories.  
  
"So what happened, again?" Sirius asked, glancing at Remus. He hadn't said a word, but Sirius knew he was awake from the way he was breathing.  
  
"I don't even know!" James cried. "One minute, they were kissing, the next minute, she was crying - "  
  
"Maybe she knows something," Sirius said, absentmindedly.  
  
James shook his head, violently. "No! She can't! If she knows she's been kissing Remus instead of me, she might . . . she might . . ."  
  
"Do something drastic?" Sirius said, glancing at Remus again.  
  
"I don't know," James said, sighing. "Maybe we should just - "  
  
"For five seconds!" Remus interrupted, causing both James and Sirius to jump. "For five seconds could we talk about something that hasn't anything to do with bloody Lily Evans?"  
  
Both of the boys stared at him in confusion.  
  
"Never mind," Remus said, sliding off of his bed. "Never mind. Just . . . do whatever you want. That's what you've been doing anyhow, isn't it?" He opened the dormitory door, and slammed it behind him, leaving Sirius and James to stare at it in awe.  
  
"What's his problem?" James said, raising an eyebrow.  
  
Sirius merely shrugged, rolled over and buried his head underneath the covers. They REALLY needed to find an antidote.  
  
---  
  
Lily sat on the couch staring into the fire. She didn't realize it, but it was the same couch where James had kissed her earlier. James had kissed her. She hadn't been able to sleep for fear of having dreams about it. That prat had actually kissed her!  
  
"Lily?" a voice whispered from behind her, almost making her topple headfirst into the fireplace.  
  
Lily turned around best she could (considering she was on a couch), and came face to face with Potter, himself. He was looking for all the world like a lost, sad puppy. Lily shook her head. No. James wasn't a puppy. He was a dog.  
  
"Leave me alone, Potter," she said, softly, turning back around, but not before catching the hurt look on his face.  
  
"There's something I need to tell you," he said, coming around and sitting next to her.  
  
"I don't want to hear it, okay!" Lily retorted.  
  
"But - "  
  
"No, Potter! What part of 'leave me alone' don't you understand?" Lily exclaimed. "I-I don't like you like that, okay? I like Remus! Remus, your best friend. Remus, m-m-my . . ." Tears started to well up in her eyes.  
  
James nodded. "I know."  
  
Lily narrowed her eyes at him. "You know?"  
  
James nodded again. "Yes, I know, and that's what I wanted to talk to you about."  
  
"That doesn't make any sense, Potter," Lily shook her head. "YOU don't make any sense!"  
  
"Lily, listen to me!"  
  
"Quit calling me that!"  
  
"Lily - !"  
  
"Stop it! I'm Evans to you, alright? We fight all the time, and we call each other Evans and Potter! Evans and Potter, do you hear me?"  
  
"Lily - "  
  
"We're NOT friends, Potter, and we never will be - !"  
  
"LILY, SHUT UP!" James snapped. "Shut up and listen to me!"  
  
"No," Lily retorted. "No, I won't listen to a word you have to say. Goodbye, Potter." She stood up and marched over to the girls' stairs. She put one foot on the first stair and was suddenly snatched back, and slammed against the wall.  
  
Before she knew what was happening, James' lips were crushed against hers.  
  
---  
  
Remus tore himself away from her and took a deep breath. She looked stunned, to put it mildly. He figured if he was going to do this, he'd have to do it now.  
  
"Lily, please just listen to me, okay?" he said, quietly. She nodded, apparently still quite out of it. It was now or never.  
  
"I'm not who you think I am," Remus said. He hit himself mentally, aware of how clich'd that sounded. "I'm your boyfriend, Lily. I'm Remus." He searched her eyes, but she was still staring blankly at him. "James and I, we took a potion - the polyjuice potion - to switch bodies because . . . well, James has a crush on you, sort of. I know it might sound stupid, but James really likes you and he had this 'brilliant' idea that if we switched bodies, then I could somehow get you to fall in love with me in his body. I didn't want to go along with it, Lily, but they tricked me! I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."  
  
Lily simply kept staring at him. Her expression hadn't even changed.  
  
"Lily, say something," Remus pleaded. He was starting to get worried. Just when he was debating whether or not to take her to Madam Pomphrey, she opened her mouth.  
  
"I-I thought I was going crazy," Lily whispered, smiling suddenly. "I thought I was falling for Potter! Merlin, Remus, I thought I was mental!"  
  
Remus laughed. "I think I might BE mental."  
  
"Remus," she said, her expression turning serious, as she stared into his eyes. "Please, don't ever do this to me again."  
  
"I won't," Remus promised. "I'm sorry, Lily. I should've told you right away . . ."  
  
"Shhh," Lily said. "No more apologies." She kissed him quickly on the mouth. "You know . . . I think . . . it's time . . . to give . . . Potter . . . exactly . . . what he . . . deserves," she said, between kisses.  
  
"What do you mean?" Remus asked, licking his lips. He looked up. Lily had a wicked smile on her face.  
  
"I mean, if he wants me to fall in love with him, then I think I should fall in love with him," Lily said, matter of factly. She grinned. "I was always physically attracted to you, anyways . . ."  
  
---  
  
A/N: to everyone who reviewed this story, thanks! to everyone who reviewed "Unregistered Animagi" read my profile. AND TO EVERYONE WHO WOULD LIKE TO READ MORE OF THIS STORY, REVIEW!!!  
  
Ariana S. 


	10. betrayal and when enough is enough

Something Like Deception  
  
A/N: I am so sorry. I would have updated much, much sooner, but my computer had this virus thing and I couldn't get on it which means I haven't checked anything, including my email . . . which means I had no idea about any of your reviews! AND THEN I WAS FINALLY ABLE TO GET ON AND I WAS SO SURPRISED . . . and pleased. I'm glad you all like my story. I really appreciate all of your reviews!  
  
And Bewilderment555 wanted me to mention him/her in my story! So here you go! Of course I don't mind. Thank you for reviewing, and you think the story is humorous and light? Yay! That's exactly what I was going for, so it's nice to know that I made it!  
  
Disclaimer: (insert funny/sarcastic something here)  
  
Chapter Ten – betrayal and when enough is enough  
  
Evans was acting so weird! James didn't understand it. Just last night she had said that she hated him and Remus both, and now she kept staring at him in class. Not Remus, but HIM! What was her problem?  
  
"What's up, Prongs?" a loud whisper behind James caught his attention.  
  
He shrugged, and looked over his shoulder at Sirius. "I don't know. Maybe it's just me, but . . . does Lily seem to be acting different to you?"  
  
Sirius raised his eyebrows. "No. But then, I don't watch her every move twenty-four/seven, so I wouldn't know."  
  
James rolled his eyes. "I do not watch her twenty-four/seven."  
  
Remus suddenly leaned over, and said out of the corner of his mouth, "The teacher is looking this way."  
  
James quickly turned toward the front, not wanting to get into trouble in Remus's body. If he hadn't turned so fast, he would have noticed a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of Remus's mouth.  
  
---  
  
Sirius banged his head into the table repeatedly, earning himself a nasty look from Madam Pince. He grinned at her sheepishly when he noticed, and gave her a half-hearted wave. She narrowed her eyes, but went back to what she was doing.  
  
There was nothing in the library on anything. He had been looking everyday for two weeks and a half now, and he was seriously worried. Neither James nor Remus had said anything about the most important issue yet: Remus's transformation, and it was due to happen in about three days. James didn't appear to be experiencing any of Remus's usual pains, and Remus hadn't said anything, which was very strange for him.  
  
Sirius thought that Remus would at least remember the most traumatic recurring experience of his life, but what did he know? Maybe he did remember, but he just didn't want to bring it up because James hadn't said anything, yet?  
  
Sirius sighed. He just wished his friends would go back to nor-  
  
"Do you think he's suspecting anything, yet?"  
  
"Oh, he definitely is. He told Sirius in class that you were acting weird, but I broke up that conversation."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I don't think it's a good idea for him to suspect everything so soon, you know? He might get too suspicious."  
  
Sirius stood up slowly, and leaned around the bookshelf. His eyes bugged out when he saw who was talking. James and Lily! No . . . Remus and Lily! Remus, in James's body, of course, but what were they talking about?  
  
Sirius's mouth suddenly dropped open. It . . . It couldn't be! Remus and Lily . . . kissing!? Impossible!  
  
Sirius sat down hard in his chair, and took a deep breath. 'Okay, Sirius . . . think! Think! There has to be a reason . . .' Remus not wanting to turn into James . . . Lily's freaking-out when he "disappeared" for a day . . . Remus refusing to help James "get" Lily . . . the way Lily and Remus always looked at each other . . . THE "PREFECT" BUSINESS they always snuck away to do, and the way they never invited any other prefects . . .  
  
That's it. It all made sense. Remus liked Lily. A lot. And they were already going out. Sirius shook his head. But he didn't want Prongs to know. Why? Because Prongs liked Lily, too.  
  
Sirius closed his eyes to think. This didn't make any sense, though. 'Why didn't Remus just tell James in the first place? Why go to all this trouble to hide it?' he thought. 'Remus must've not wanted James to get hurt.' Sirius scowled, recalling Lily's and Remus's recent conversation. 'But he obviously doesn't care anymore.'  
  
---  
  
"Remus . . . we should . . . go . . ." Lily sighed. His lips were warm on her neck.  
  
"Just a few more minutes," he whined, very unlike him.  
  
"As much as I want to say yes . . ." Lily started. Remus pulled her against him.  
  
"Then say yes," he said, grinning.  
  
'I would,' Lily thought, 'but that's Potter's smile. Not Remus's.'  
  
He grinned wider, noting her hesitation, and lowered his lips to hers.  
  
"No!" she hissed, pushing him away. She tried to ignore the hurt look on his face. "I'm sorry, Remus, but . . . I can't kiss you like this! What if someone SEES us? Don't you get it? You're James Potter, not Remus Lupin! And besides . . . it's just weird for me. Sorry, but let's wait, okay?"  
  
Remus sighed, and released her from his embrace. "Okay."  
  
---  
  
Sirius walked slowly back to the common room. There was no other choice, really. He had to tell James, didn't he? James was his first and best friend. Besides, this whole thing was ridiculous, really. James would see the humor in it, and in time forget all about Lily Evans. Then, Remus could live happily ever after and-  
  
Sirius sighed, stopping in front of the portrait of the fat lady. "Who am I kidding?" he whispered. James would be heartbroken. His and Remus's friendship would never be the same again, and Sirius would be stuck in the middle. Meanwhile, Lily would walk off as happily as a pixie wreaking havoc.  
  
Speaking of Lily –  
  
"Hey, Sirius!" the girl said, coming toward him from the hallway. Her face was flushed and she looked excited, full of life.  
  
Sirius glared at her. She appeared not to notice. "Have you seen James?" she asked, blushing a bit.  
  
"No," Sirius said shortly. "I haven't."  
  
She looked taken aback by his harsh tone. "Are you alright, Sirius?" she asked.  
  
"Why don't you call me 'Black' like you usually do?" Sirius snapped.  
  
For a second, she looked completely confused. "What are you talking about? I thought we were okay, now. I mean, I'm friends with Remus . . . and James . . . and you, now, right?"  
  
"Friends! Ha!" Sirius barked. "You think I don't know your little game? What you've been up to? Come on, Lily. I can't speak for my friends, but I'm not stupid!"  
  
Lily stared at him. "What ARE you talking about, Sirius?" she said, sharply. "What have I done?"  
  
Sirius rolled his eyes. "You've hated all of us since forever. And all of a sudden, we're all best friends? When did that happen? Before or after you started snogging Remus, I wonder?"  
  
Lily's face flushed. "I-I don't know what you're t-talking about – " she stammered.  
  
Sirius laughed bitterly. "Well, I know exactly what I'm talking about, and I won't let you do this to my friends – "  
  
"Sirius, I think you've got it all wrong. Remus and I . . . well, yes we're dating and we have been for a while now – "  
  
"Ah, ha!" Sirius exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at her. He was well- aware that he was acting childish, but at the moment he didn't care. "So just jumped in the floo with the first Marauder you saw, did you?"  
  
"NO!" Lily shouted. "I'm not one of those superficial girls that hang around and ooh and ahh over you guys! I'm not like that! Remus and I really like each other. He just didn't want to hurt his best friend, Sirius, so he asked me to keep it a secret and I did. But then, you guys did this to him! You tricked him into doing something he didn't want to do, being someone he didn't want to be, didn't you, all because of Potter's selfish needs! Well, I'm not having it, Sirius! I will not bend to Potter's will like all the rest of you! I like Remus, NOT Potter, and he's the one I want to be with!"  
  
Sirius just stared at her. She had tears in her eyes, now.  
  
"He's going to get what's coming to him, Black! And so will you, if you try to stop me! I swear it!" Her eyes flashed angrily, and she went storming off down the hallway, leaving Sirius looking after her, wide-eyed.  
  
---  
  
Lily kept on stomping until she reached the Quidditch Pitch, where she knew James would probably be, regardless of whose body he was inhabiting. "Ja – Remus!" she called, sweetly.  
  
Sirius wanted to play games with her, did he? Well, now his friend would pay for it! He should've known not to cross Lily Evans!  
  
"Hey, Lily!" James said happily, waving to her from the Gryffindor bleachers. "What's up?"  
  
'This is it,' Lily thought, biting her lip. 'I have to make this seem real.' She held her breath on her way over to him, forcing her cheeks to become really red, so it seemed as though she were blushing.  
  
"H-hi," she gasped. "How are you?"  
  
"I'm fine," he said, smiling.  
  
Lily grimaced. He was smiling at her with Remus's grin. She had to remember whose brain was in that head. "Listen . . . um, I just wanted to apologize to you . . . I shouldn't have gotten upset last night . . . I was just . . . uh, having girl problems."  
  
It's was Remus's – no, James's – turn to blush. "I see," he said quickly. "Well, it's okay. It doesn't matter. Uh, have you talked to Prongs – James – yet?"  
  
"Yeah, sure," Lily said, shrugging.  
  
James frowned, and Lily fought the urge to laugh.  
  
She suddenly flashed him a grin. "I thought it was more important to apologize to you, though. You're my friend, aren't you?" She laid a hand on his arm.  
  
James looked flustered for a minute, but he quickly regained his composure. "Sure, we're friends."  
  
"Right," Lily whispered, lightly running her fingertips up and down his arm.  
  
James seemed transfixed by this. His eyes followed her fingers.  
  
"Listen, Remus . . ." Lily said, softly. She sat down next to him and lightly placed her hand on his cheek. He looked so . . . vulnerable. Lily inwardly grinned.  
  
"There's something I've been meaning to tell you . . ."  
  
---  
  
James could do nothing but stare at her. Was it just him, or was she licking her lips a lot more than was necessary? And why was her hand on his face? He swallowed, suddenly getting very, very nervous.  
  
"Lily – " he started to say.  
  
"Remus," she whispered, interrupting him. "Please, let me finish. I have to."  
  
James nodded, all at once incapable of speech.  
  
"These past two weeks," she started, stroking his cheek. He shivered at her touch. "I just . . . started to notice . . . how . . . very attractive you are."  
  
James's eyes widened. "What?" he gasped.  
  
"It's strange," Lily continued. "But I've never noticed until now . . . how much I like you." She fixed her eyes on him. "I'm sure I'm not the only one to notice the change in you. It's as if you've become . . . a whole new person."  
  
She lowered her face towards his, but he regained use of his body and abruptly stood up. "Evans, wait! You . . . you don't understand . . ."  
  
She stared at him. "What are you talking about?"  
  
James took a deep breath. "I'm . . . not who you think I am."  
  
"Yes, you are," Lily insisted. "Stop acting weird. You're Remus Lupin, aren't you?"  
  
James turned bright red. "Umm . . . See, that's the thing . . ."  
  
Lily grinned. "Remus, you're such a joker." Wincing mentally, she reached over and hugged him. "I like you so much! See you later, okay?"  
  
Without giving him a chance to reply, she skipped off, humming a tune.  
  
James watched her go, an icy feeling settling in his stomach. He cradled his hands in his head. "Man, oh man, oh man . . ."  
  
---  
  
A/N: did you like it? did you like it? I hope so. I worked on it for two days. Well, not two days straight, since I started really late last night, then I went to sleep. Then I woke up after noon, and worked on it some more. Okay, I'm rambling now! Just review and tell me what you think! THANKS!  
  
Ariana S. 


	11. problems big and small

Something Like Deception  
  
A/N: I wish I had the time to thank each and every one of you individually, but that would take away from my LIMITED computer time. (glares at no one in particular) ANYWAYS, there's just so many of you to thank . . . You guys really rock my world. I remember when I was about ready to give up on this story, but you inspired me to keep on writing. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! (fights back tears of happiness) IGNORE ME! ON WITH THE HUMOR AND ROMANCE! (lol – I've just realized that peter is pretty non-existent throughout this story . . . heehee. Oops! That actually was a total accident!)  
  
Disclaimer: not mine but if it was, my head would be even bigger than James's is.  
  
lil'doxy: (gasp) are you a Seer??? heehee  
  
The Notorious Madame M: Are they going to switch back, you ask? What will the final couple be, you ask? (snicker) wouldn't YOU like to know?  
  
Chapter Eleven – problems big and small  
  
James was on the verge of panicking. First off, Lily was supposed to fall for HIM. For HIM. For HIS body, and HIS dashing good looks! Not Remus! Remus was just supposed to be a pawn in this whole game, and James was King. HE was supposed to be the victorious one.  
  
Since when did a pawn overthrow the King and run off with the Queen?  
  
James shook his head. This wasn't right. This wasn't right at all. He stood up from the bleachers and started to make his way back towards the school.  
  
He needed to fix this. He needed to be back in his body, so he could straighten out this whole mess, which meant that he needed to find Sirius and –  
  
James suddenly gasped, doubling over. He stumbled, trying not to lose his balance as he clutched his body. His breath was coming in short puffs of air. James grimaced as he stood stock-still and waiting for the pain to pass, as he knew it eventually would.  
  
James shuddered, straightening back up. 'It's getting worse now,' he thought, worriedly. He knew what was wrong with him – Moony's monthly ailment, the reason the poor bloke hadn't wanted to "trade places" in the first place. James had been experiencing these sudden pains for a few days now, and every time it happened it was worse than before. Luckily, it never happened around his friends. James knew they were already worried enough about things as it was.  
  
He sighed. He was just grateful that he was a Quidditch player, and therefore able to handle pain a lot better than Moony.  
  
At a time like this, the hospital wing was the last place he wanted to be.  
  
---  
  
Sirius glared as Remus approached his table in the library. "Where art thou fair lady?" he said, icily.  
  
Remus stopped, feeling a little taken aback. He wasn't sure if Sirius was being serious, or if he was just joking.  
  
"I suppose she's off somewhere torturing James," Remus admitted, sheepishly, as he took a seat at the table.  
  
Sirius narrowed his eyes. "That . . . WITCH! You know, MOONY, if you were any kind of friend, you'd stop this cruel injustice towards Prongs."  
  
Remus sighed. "Padfoot, it was Lily's idea, and you know she and Prongs have been on the wrong foot since they first – "  
  
"So, what?" Sirius interrupted, rudely. "You'll side with that BANSHEE over one of your best friends?"  
  
Remus's eyes flashed. "Don't call her names. Sirius, you know James had it coming to him – "  
  
"For what!?" Sirius exclaimed. "For wanting to win over the object of his affections? Remus, the guy is head over heels for her – "  
  
"WELL, SO AM I!" Remus exploded.  
  
Sirius stared at him, and was surprised to see the faint shimmering of tears welling up in his friend's eyes. Sirius's own eyes widened. "Moony – "  
  
"Don't!" Remus said, hotly, the tears threatening to fall. "Just don't say anything to me because, heaven forbid, we both know it's going to be about James! James this, and James that!" Remus wiped away a few tears that had splashed onto his cheek. "Well, I'm tired of it!" he continued. "What about ME, Sirius? Aren't I your friend as well? What about me? Don't MY feelings matter to you?"  
  
Sirius opened his mouth to speak, but Remus interrupted in a quiet voice.  
  
"I like her, Sirius. I'm bloody infatuated with her and I'm sorry it conflicts with what James wants, but I can't help what I feel," Remus said, wistfully. "Lily likes me, and I like her, and that's all there is to it."  
  
"Bloody hell, Remus! Why didn't you just TELL me?" a pained-sounding James said from behind startling him.  
  
"Indeed." All three boys turned with identical looks of terror on their faces. Madam Pince was staring at them sour-faced.  
  
Sirius grinned nervously. "Madam . . . you're looking especially lovely today . . ."  
  
Needless to say, after being literally thrown out into the hall, they all had very sore backsides for the rest of the day.  
  
---  
  
"Well, now that we've gotten everything sorted out, what do you propose we do?" Lily asked, matter-of-factly, after shooting multiple dirty glances at James in Remus's body. The Marauders plus Lily were holed up in the common room as far away from the rest of the students as possible.  
  
"We?" Sirius interrupted, nastily. "I suppose you want Remus's body back just as much as he does?" Lily and Remus both blushed, and James just sighed.  
  
James was being oddly quiet about all of this. After Remus had finally explained that he and Lily were indeed dating, he had responded with a simple, "Oh," and then hadn't said a word for the longest time.  
  
"Sirius, where exactly in the library have you been looking?" Remus asked, trying to change the subject. Awkward silences weren't exactly to his liking.  
  
"Curses, potions, and spells gone wrong," Sirius answered. "I figured IF there was a solution to any of this, it was probably there."  
  
"And if not?" Lily asked, looking worried. "What if there isn't a solution?"  
  
"Then, I guess you'll have to look for a new boyfriend, won't you, Evans?" Sirius responded, through gritted teeth.  
  
Lily blushed again. "I'm just trying to help, Black," she said, quietly.  
  
"Well, we're fine without you. Just go on and do what you were doing BEFORE you decided to date Remus, and completely ignore James – "  
  
"Sirius, stop!" James interrupted, speaking for the first time all afternoon. Sirius gave him a surprised look.  
  
"But, mate, she – " Sirius started, but James silenced him.  
  
"Evans has a right to date whoever she wants, Sirius. Just drop it, okay?" James glanced at an equally surprised, and relieved, looking Remus. "Besides, I think this whole situation is a bit more impor – "He abruptly stopped speaking and a look of complete, and intense pain came over his face.  
  
"Prongs!" Sirius exclaimed. "Prongs, what's wrong!?"  
  
"It's – " Remus started, then he stopped as he realized that Lily was in the room. Lily still didn't know about his secret.  
  
She was giving James a look that was somewhat concern, somewhat surprise, and somewhat curiosity. "What's wrong with him?" she asked, looking a little worried.  
  
Sirius, however, had caught Remus's eye, and sucked in his breath with understanding. "Hospital wing?" he asked Remus, giving nothing away.  
  
Remus nodded immediately.  
  
"Evans, clear out," Sirius said, his voice leaving no room for argument.  
  
"But – " Lily started to protest. She locked eyes with Remus in a silent plea.  
  
"Evans!" Sirius sounded exasperated.  
  
"Lily, I'll . . . meet up with you in a little while, alright?" Remus said, trying to avoid her gaze.  
  
Sirius already had levitated James through the portrait hole, and needed help blocking the tons of wailing girls who had spotted his body and had managed to jam up the doorway.  
  
"Remus!" Sirius cried.  
  
Throwing one last look over his shoulder at a rather suspicious-looking Lily, he left with Sirius.  
  
---  
  
Remus paced back and forth, trying not to stare at James, who was biting his lip, pale, shaking, and sweating. Remus shuddered. No wonder his friends avoided his gaze when they sat with him in the hospital wing every month. He looked horrible.  
  
"Boys, m-maybe you should leave, now," Madam Pomfrey said, casting a concerned glance at James on the bed. She leaned down and whispered so that Remus and Sirius couldn't hear. "He seems to be even worse off this month than usual. I'm thinking of going to Dumbledore if he keeps up like this. He still has three days to go before the full moon."  
  
Sirius and Remus exchanged identical looks of horror. "Madam, no! I mean . . . he'll get better, right? He always does!" Sirius argued.  
  
"There really isn't any need to call the Headmaster," Remus insisted. "Honestly."  
  
Madam Pomfrey simply shook her head. "I just don't know. It's just . . . I've never seen him this bad off." From the bed, James let out another audible moan of pain.  
  
"Please, let us stay," Remus pleaded, attempting to give her James's puppy dog look.  
  
Sirius clasped his hands together. "Please, Madam Pomphrey! We won't disturb him, or anything. We promise!"  
  
The nurse sighed. "Fine, but you'll leave when I say. Without another word."  
  
"Yes, Ma'am," they both said in unison.  
  
As soon as she had disappeared, the boys rushed up to James's bed. "James, I'm so sorry!" Remus said, looking almost as horrible as James felt.  
  
"Not your fault," James managed. "I'm . . . okay. Really, I am. Just a little pain, Moony. Can't be that bad, right? You . . . you go through this . . . every month, don't you?" He winced.  
  
Sirius gave Remus a look of pure terror. "Moony, we need to find something to switch your bodies back before the transformation!" he hissed, frantically. "I'm not saying I want you to be the one in pain, but it's just that you know how to deal with this and James doesn't! It's going to be ten times worse for him as it's his first time."  
  
"I know," Remus said. "I understand, Sirius. I-I want to be back in my body just as much as James wants to be back in his."  
  
But as he said the words, and looked back once again at James on the bed suffering, he suddenly wasn't so sure if he wanted to be back in his body after all.  
  
---  
  
"I found something! I think I've found something!" Lily Evans came rushing up to Sirius in the Great Hall the next morning.  
  
Sirius had gone down to breakfast alone because James was still in the Hospital Wing and Remus had dressed at the crack of dawn to go visit him. Sirius wasn't eating, however. He was gathering food to take back to the Hospital Wing with him, so he could sit with James, too.  
  
"What?" Sirius said, staring at her. "And keep your voice down!"  
  
Lily grinned, sheepishly. "Sorry. Are you . . . are you heading to visit Potter?"  
  
Sirius looked at her, curiously. "Yeah."  
  
"Is Remus there, too?" she asked, eagerly.  
  
Sirius scowled at her. "Yeah," he muttered.  
  
"Good! I have something I need to share with all of you. Let's go!"  
  
---  
  
"Potter, you look terrible," Lily said, looking shocked. "I thought Madam Pomfrey was supposed to help you get BETTER."  
  
James growled at her, causing her to jump back in surprise. "I WILL get better, after all of you buggers go away and leave me alone!" he snarled.  
  
Remus winced. It was the werewolf. It was taking over James's rational thought. 'Is that what I usually sound like?' Remus thought, miserably.  
  
For a moment, Lily was rather stunned that Remus was speaking to her this way, until she remembered that it was Potter with the nasty attitude, not Remus. She glared at him. "Is that any way to talk to your friends?" she asked, coldly.  
  
"YOU are NOT my FRIEND, Evans," he retorted. "You don't even like me, remember?"  
  
"Regardless of whether I like you or not," Lily said, her voice rising. "I came to help you!"  
  
"Oh, look! It's MUDBLOOD Evans to the rescue!"  
  
Lily froze. Remus froze. Even Sirius froze.  
  
"J-James," Sirius stammered. "You . . . you d-did not just say that . . ."  
  
"What's wrong, MUTT? Scared of the big, bad werewolf?" James sneered.  
  
Lily's eyes widened. "What?" she whispered.  
  
"James, stop!" Remus cried. Obviously, his werewolf temper was getting the worst of James. Normally, James wouldn't dare say those kinds of things. He looked around to Sirius for help, but Sirius was speechless.  
  
Lily looked terrified. "Oh, did I let the cat out of the bag?" James said, coldly. He laughed, the sound of it sending a chill up everyone's spine. "Who's going to save you, now, Evans?" he taunted. "I don't like you, Sirius doesn't like you . . . and your BOYFRIEND . . . ha! Your boyfriend is a MONSTER!"  
  
"No," Lily whispered. "No, it's not true. It's NOT true! He would've told me! He would've . . ." She stared at Remus, her eyes welling up with tears.  
  
Remus felt his heart constrict. What was he supposed to say now? He couldn't very well deny it. James had the proof. James WAS the proof.  
  
Lily must've taken Remus's silence for confirmation because she suddenly burst into tears, and ran out of the Hospital Wing.  
  
Sirius stared at James, shaking his head. "Prongs . . . how could you?" he asked, dejectedly. "How could you say things like that to Evans!?" James merely gave one last laugh before he doubled over in another round of nauseating pain.  
  
"Let him alone," Remus said, softly, his face in his palms. "He's not James, anymore. The werewolf has taken over."  
  
---  
  
Lily ran until she was sure she could run no more, and she then flung herself down beside the lake and cried. They were heart-wrenching sobs filled with so much grief that Lily felt as if she were being torn in two.  
  
'How?' she asked herself, silently. 'How could he keep something like this from me? How?'  
  
"Evans! Uh, Lily!"  
  
Lily sat up, looking around. With a jolt, she spotted Sirius jogging toward her. He looked relieved that he had found her. If it wasn't so sad it might've been funny: Imagine. Sirius Black. Looking relieved to see her. It was laughable, really.  
  
"Thank, goodness," Sirius said. "Moony is so worried about you."  
  
Lily just stared at him. "So?" she said, defiantly. "I don't care."  
  
Sirius sighed, impatiently. "Evans, we really don't have time for this. James is – "  
  
"I don't care about that . . . that hot-headed, pompous jerk!" Lily cried, heatedly. "He can burn in hell for all I care!"  
  
"Lily! Get a grip!" Sirius said. He looked as if he wanted to shake her. "Listen, Evans . . . I know you're probably, uh, hurting right now, but . . . James is hurting a LOT worse than you are, believe me. He didn't mean those things he said. You know he didn't. We studied werewolves in class remember? You know how they tend to lose rational thought whenever the full moon is close. And it being his first time, it's probably affecting him way more than it would affect Remus."  
  
Lily shuddered. "I don't want to hear about James OR Remus right now," she said, stubbornly.  
  
"Lily, we need to change them back!" Sirius said, desperately. "You said you'd found something! Now, what is it?"  
  
Lily narrowed her eyes at him, suspiciously, then her eyes suddenly widened. "You! You are a HORRIBLE friend!"  
  
Sirius stepped back in surprise. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"You'd rather Remus go through this transformation than James!" Lily accused. "You don't care about him at all, do you!?"  
  
Sirius's eyes flashed in anger. "That is NOT true!" Sirius exclaimed. "Lily, James is NOT used to being a werewolf! He doesn't know how to handle it, and Remus does! He's been a werewolf since he was a very little boy, and he's learned a few things about controlling himself, but James doesn't know any of those things. Lily, we need to know!"  
  
Lily shut her eyes tightly, a worried look coming across her features. "Well, I suppose he'll have to learn, then, won't he?" she finally said.  
  
Sirius just stared at her. "What does that mean?" he asked.  
  
"It means that what I've found . . ." Lily sighed. "I was looking in the library and I found this book. It says that if you rush something, like a POTION, that shouldn't be rushed, the effects could either be permanent or last as long as they were originally supposed to be brewed for."  
  
Sirius collapsed onto the ground beside her. "So . . . so it'll last a month, then? That's two weeks from the full moon."  
  
Lily nodded. "And if they don't switch then . . ."  
  
"They'll be this way forever," Sirius finished, looking horrified at the very thought. "Poor James!"  
  
Lily shook her head in annoyance. "Of course," she said, sarcastically. "Because everything is about JAMES."  
  
Sirius gave her a weak grin. "Evans, everything is ALWAYS about James."  
  
---  
  
A/N: Of course! Everything IS always about James! (shakes head impatiently) When will they all learn? Tsk, tsk. heehee. PLEASE REVIEW! THE NEXT CHAPTER IS GOING TO BE ROMANTIC, and much lighter! Lotsa fluff, for all of you fluff-lovin people!  
  
Ariana S. 


	12. when nightmares and wishes come true

Something Like Deception  
  
A/N: Hey! This story is falling behind! It has more chapters, but "Unregistered Animagi!" has more reviews! What's up with that? Maybe I shouldn't update both of them at the same time? Oh well, bring on the fluff and angsty stuff!

Christy: Thank you! I tried to make her reaction as original as I could, but it's been done so many times before, so it's a bit hard.

firehottie: Thanks! Here's more!

Amariel: Hope this is fluffy enough for you!

Sallymander: Go ahead and say it. I know, Lily was being a bit mean, but I figured that would be her reaction because of all the things James did to Remus, you know? Anyways, fluff in this chapter!

jess131346: Heehee. Yeah, Dobby!

Titou Moony: (hugs back) I didn't say they WOULDN'T switch bodies. I just said, they wouldn't switch now! They MIGHT switch back later. I haven't decided yet. And please do translate that review for me! Which story was it for?

grace: Please don't die! I wouldn't want that on my conscience! Here's more for you! And don't worry, I'm not going to stop writing!

Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me.  
  
Chapter Twelve – when nightmares and wishes come true  
  
James Potter was scared. Scared wasn't even a word for it. He was frightened, terrified, and shaking like mad. Tonight was the night of the full moon.  
  
Sirius had come to him two days ago and had explained patiently and reluctantly that he had no choice, but to go through with it, and James had appropriately cursed him out. Sirius hadn't been back since.  
  
James was no fool. One tiny part of his brain understood that it was the werewolf talking. It had to be. He wouldn't normally say things like that to his best friend, and Evans . . . What would she think of him now? Not to mention Remus. The look on his face was pure horror.  
  
But all of that didn't matter right now. What did matter was that he was transforming tonight. He was turning into a werewolf.  
  
---  
  
"I can't do it," Remus sighed.  
  
"Just try a bit harder!" Sirius insisted. "I'm sure you can . . . Maybe you're just not concentrating."  
  
"I've BEEN trying! I can't do it! James is Prongs, not me," Remus replied. He had been trying to transform into the stag for the entire day, but had been wholly unsuccessful, and was exhausted by all of his efforts.  
  
Sirius's shoulders drooped in defeat. "But . . . Well, I suppose I can handle Moony for tonight . . ."  
  
"Are you sure?" Remus asked, doubtfully. He knew James would be a lot more uncontrollable than he would, and that Peter would be no help at all.  
  
Sirius hesitated. "I'm sure," he finally said, squaring his shoulders.  
  
---  
  
James screamed in agony. This was unlike any pain he had ever experienced before. It was nothing like when he transformed into Prongs.  
  
His bones were shifting around. He could feel them moving, changing shape. It was all his skin could do to keep up. It felt like his bones would rip right through at any moment.  
  
He writhed on the floor. He could literally felt his nose grow longer, he could feel his hair grow, and more hair sprout up on his body in places where it shouldn't belong. His ears were disappearing into the sides of his head with a sickening squelch, and for a second, he couldn't hear a damn thing, then two wolf ears erupted out of his head, and he was drowning in the sudden clarification of his hearing.  
  
His eyes were growing larger. He could feel them expanding. He was down on all fours now, and instead of screaming, he was howling. Gradually, everything was coming into focus. He could see more details in this room than ever before. He could see every little nook and cranny in the wall, and scratch marks on it that he somehow knew belonged to a dog.  
  
Something protruded from his backside, and he turned round and round trying to discover what it was that was moving. He finally figured out that it was his own tail.  
  
Suddenly, he heard a noise and the whine of a dog. He spun around. A dog! There was a dog in HIS territory!? But, wait. He knew this dog, didn't he?  
  
This dog meant him no harm.  
  
And yet . . . this wolf was hungry. If the dog didn't want to defend himself, then the wolf was going to go to sleep with a full belly tonight.  
  
---  
  
Remus felt awful. It was HIM who was supposed to be down in that shrieking shack . . . experiencing that dreadful pain, not Prongs. Prongs may have deserved a lot of things, but not this. No one deserved this kind of pain.  
  
Remus realized with a jolt that it really was all his fault. If he had just been honest in the first place, then none of this madness would have happened. Sure, his friends would have been pissed, but in time, they would have gotten over it.  
  
He sat up, a determined look on his face. He was going to start being honest, damn it. And he was going to start right now.  
  
He summoned a quill and a piece of parchment towards him on his bed, and began to write a letter . . .  
  
---  
  
Lily Evans peered around the corner, frightened that someone would be along any minute to tell her off. She was going to get detention. She just knew it!  
  
Gathering her nerves, she crept toward the big double doors at the end of the hall. She put a hand on them and pushed them open, letting out a breath. No one had spotted her.  
  
'Why, oh why,' she thought, 'does Remus want to meet me at the lake at this ungodly hour?' He had sent her a cryptic note that said simply, "Meet me at the lake at midnight. We have to talk."  
  
Lily made her way toward the lake, sighing. "What I should be asking myself is why I'm even bothering to go."  
  
She shivered, the chill in the night air seeping through her clothes. "Lily," Potter's relieved voice said. Lily looked up and spotted him sitting there, his glasses slightly crooked. The moonlight danced on his hair and made it appear to shine.  
  
"Remus," Lily caught her breath. For a second, he had looked like her Remus, instead of that arrogant Potter.  
  
Without warning, he came over to her, and almost bowled her over in a bone- crushing hug. "Lily, thank goodness!" he said into her ear. "I-I thought you wouldn't come."  
  
Lily regained her senses, and pulled away from him a faint tinge of red highlighting her cheeks. "I almost didn't," she said, shortly. "What do you want?"  
  
A hurt expression crossed his face. "I want to explain," he said, after a moment's hesitation.  
  
"Remus – "  
  
"No, listen to me, Lily, please?" Remus interrupted, his eyes pleading with her.  
  
Lily sighed. "Just hurry. It's cold out here."  
  
Remus smiled sheepishly, causing Lily to scowl. He had Potter's grin down perfectly. "Well?" she said, impatiently.  
  
Remus stared at the ground, trying to avoid her gaze. He didn't want her to look at him like that. "Please, don't be mad There's so much you don't understand," he said, before she could open her mouth. He kept his eyes on the ground. "I came to Hogwarts, and I – I thought I would be rejected because of what I was . . . but I wasn't, Lily. I have real friends here. James, Sirius . . . and you. I've wanted to tell you. I've wanted to tell you for so long, but I didn't know what you would say. I wasn't sure how – "  
  
"Oh, Remus! You didn't have to lie!" Lily said, launching herself over at him and hugging him around the waist. "I understand that you can't go running around telling the whole school, but . . . You just have to trust me!"  
  
Remus stared down at her in shock. "You're not . . .mad?" he wondered.  
  
"No. Well, I am a little because you lied," Lily said, straightening herself up.  
  
Remus blushed. "Oh."  
  
"You know?" Lily said, thoughtfully. She had a playful smile on her face. "There may be a way you can make it up to me . . ."  
  
"How?" Remus asked, immediately.  
  
Lily grinned and rose to her feet, holding out her hand for Remus's. He rose to his feet and took her hand, smiling uncertainly.  
  
"Remember, when I told you about that certain fantasy of mine?" she asked, sweetly.  
  
Remus was confused. She hit him, playfully. "Remus! Don't tell me you don't remember?"  
  
He smiled. "Sorry," he said.  
  
"I wanted to walk with you," she said, starting to blush, "hand-in-hand . . . under the full moon. Remember? You frowned then, and I think you thought maybe I wouldn't notice, but I wondered why." Her smile disappeared. "And now I know why."  
  
Remus turned red. "I thought it would take a miracle for me to be able to do that," he mumbled.  
  
"But, look, Remus!" Lily pointed upwards, thinking that maybe he still hadn't quite caught on. "It's a full moon!"  
  
Remus's eyes suddenly widened. He really did feel like an idiot, now. He looked up and drew in a breath. The moon was huge. He had never . . . seen it so . . . FULL before. And it was gorgeous. For the first time, he didn't resent the moon.  
  
"I'm . . . I'm still human," he breathed, realizing the reality of the situation for the first time.  
  
Lily rolled her eyes. "Duh," she said. Remus stared at her, almost hungrily, and suddenly, without warning, he grabbed her, wrapping his arms around her tightly. Then, he leaned down and kissed her with every ounce of passion that he had, so that Lily was left, literally, breathless.  
  
"What was that for?" she asked him, her eyes wide, and her cheeks flushed. "I just wanted to walk with you."  
  
Remus flashed her a crazy loon's grin. "For being you," he whispered, pulling her back into his arms. "My Lily . . . more beautiful than any other."  
  
"My Remus," she whispered, savoring the words on her tongue. Her heart pounding wildly, she leaned up for another kiss.  
  
'My Remus . . .'  
  
---  
  
A/N: Ah . . . that was so . . . unbelievably sweet. Sugar coated, really. Well, it's the sweetest thing I've ever written, nowhere near the sweetest thing I've ever read, though!  
  
I'LL LOVE YOU IF YOU REVIEW!!!  
  
Ariana S.


	13. coping and hoping

Something Like Deception  
  
A/N: It's a weird feeling I get when I'm writing. I always have this vague idea winding around in my head, but I'm never sure how I'm going to apply it to paper. Then, when I actually start, it unwinds itself, somehow. It's like: the ink in my pen is a vessel for my soul, and my message is set free through the stories that I write. It all makes sense in a really weird way. Does anyone understand what I'm trying to say?  
  
Amariel: Thank you! Hey, look everyone! I have USUAL reviewers! Yay! Heehee. Glad you liked the fluffiness.  
  
firehottie: Thanks. Happy you liked it!  
  
Sarah Warder: (sigh) I just can't please you people, can I? What do you MEAN it was a tad TOO sweet? (breaks down into tears) What did I do WRONG??? Haha, just kidding! Thank you! Oh, I hope this chapter sums up what happened with Sirius and James-the-werewolf.  
  
Jessica: Thank you! I'm glad you love it. I love it, too!  
  
lil'doxy: (looks scared) Just what exactly HAVE you been picturing?  
  
bubblesara: What? No rhyme this time? (faints) Oh, well . . . Thanks anyway! I'll try!  
  
CanadianBlueberries: Uh, sorry. Nope, it's definitely a Lily/Remus fic. My Lily/James fic is called "Unregistered Animagi." You might like that one . . . I've been told it's really rather good. Thanks anyway!  
  
lxldiRRtyJesslxl: What an, uh, interesting, penname. Heehee. THANKS! I'M GLAD YOU LIKE IT!  
  
Tara-Yo: Join the club. In my mind, Sirius is not dead. He lives a very long life and finally adopts Harry from his psycho aunt and uncle. What will happen to him, you ask? You'll see! You'll see!  
  
jess131346: I've been meaning to ask you, what are all the numbers for after "jess"? And yes, Dobby and the teacloths! I agree with you there. The world must revolve around Dobby!  
  
---  
  
Disclaimer: Fanfiction owns me, but I don't own a damn thing. Not really a fair trade, is it?  
  
Chapter Thirteen – Coping and Hoping  
  
Sirius winced. When Remus said it would be bad, he hadn't known what "bad" meant. Now he did. And it was worse than bad.  
  
There were scratches all over his body. The smell of blood, his blood, hung heavily in the air. He had passed out last night from all of the damage done to him, and he had barely woken up in time this morning to drag himself back up to Gryffindor Tower.  
  
He wanted to go to the Hospital Wing with Peter, but if he went in there like this, Madam Pomfrey would be highly suspicious. Sirius sighed. He was just lucky that he hadn't been bitten. Very, very lucky.  
  
He hoped that book Lily Evans' had found was telling the truth. He hoped his best friends switched back into their own bodies in two weeks like they were supposed to.  
  
Because if they didn't, he wasn't sure he'd be able to hang around with James-the-werewolf on full moons for much longer.  
  
---  
  
Remus held onto Lily's hand tightly. With the other hand, he was covering up the yawns that dared to escape his mouth. Lily kept glancing at him, and Remus was sure that he looked horrid.  
  
He hadn't gotten any sleep last night at all. After they came back from their "walk" around the lake, Lily had gone upstairs to bed, but Remus stayed down in the common room, worrying about Sirius and how well James was controlling his actions.  
  
Lily had dragged him to breakfast this morning, and forced him to eat. His stomach felt queasy when he didn't see Sirius or Peter anywhere, and he was sure that they had gone to the Hospital Wing to treat their many injuries given to them by James-the-werewolf.  
  
So after he gulped down something he didn't waste time trying to identify, he practically pulled Lily out of her seat, tugging her after him to the Hospital Wing. He had to see James. He had to see Sirius. He had to know if they were okay.  
  
---  
  
Lily blushed. She was well aware of the picture they made storming down the hallway hand-in-hand. From the determination on Remus's (Potter's) face, she could only assume what other students were thinking. James Potter and Lily Evans? An item!? She supposed people would be shocked, and that everyone would hear about it by dinner that afternoon.  
  
Lily sighed. It was going to be quite complicated when Remus got his body back. And not just for the whole school. It was going to be complicated for her, too.  
  
Because, as much as she tried to deny it, she was slowly becoming attracted to this body, and that was not good. That was not good at all.  
  
---  
  
James stared at the picture they made in the doorway. That was the way it should be, he thought. HIMSELF, and Lily Evans holding hands, and rushing to make sure MOONY was all right after his transformation. It was so bloody ironic! This was the way he wanted it! But that Lily Evans . . . that BLOODY Lily Evans had screwed it all up. And Remus, his so-called buddy, Remus, his COMRADE, had fallen in love with her!  
  
And for once, James wasn't the winner.  
  
Well, it was okay, he told himself. It was okay because, all was fair in love and war, right? So Remus had won the girl. That was okay, right? There were other fish in the sea, right?  
  
'Right,' was what he told himself. 'Right,' was what he would continue to tell himself. But he would always know it wasn't true. In the future, he would probably date tons of other girls, but no one would come close to Lily Evans. She was unattainable. And therefore attractive to him. But James knew it was so much more than that.  
  
For him, there would be no one else, but her.  
  
---  
  
Remus breathed a sigh of relief. James was fine. He was extremely bloodied up, and in his words, he "hurt like hell," but he would survive.  
  
"Have you seen Sirius?" he asked, feeling somewhat hesitant.  
  
James paused, then he sucked in his breath. "Moony, I don't . . . I don't remember anything. I don't even remember Sirius being there . . ."  
  
"It's okay," Remus said, quickly. "Maybe he's in the common room, or the dormitory. Sometimes I . . ." He glanced at Lily. She was looking back at him, intently. He looked away, back towards James, and said in a low voice, "Sometimes, I don't remember anything, either."  
  
"Where's Peter?" Lily asked, suddenly.  
  
"He was here," James said. "He went to breakfast." Only Remus noticed how James's voice sounded strained, as if he were forcing himself to answer her. James was also looking everywhere, but at Lily. For a second, something like guilt ran through his body.  
  
"Oh," Lily said, also carefully not looking at James.  
  
Remus sighed, internally. "Lily, let's go find Sirius."  
  
"Okay," she said, obviously happy to be out of James's company. 'Or maybe,' Remus thought, glumly, 'happy to be away from "my" company.'  
  
---  
  
Sirius was in the showers, shying away from the water. It hurt like a thousand knives every time it touched any part of his scratches, bruises, and cuts. And he winced.  
  
"Get a grip of yourself," he said out loud. "It's just . . . arrggh . . . water! Ahhhh!" Sirius backpedaled from the showerhead and ran into a wall. "Ow!" he winced. "Ow! Ow! Ow!"  
  
"Sirius?" James's voice came from the doorway. Remus . . .  
  
Sirius looked up with a pained expression. "The water hurt me," he said, successfully managing to sound like a two-year-old.  
  
"Black, are you an idiot? Those are all open wounds!" Evans's said, having pushed past Remus to see what was going on.  
  
"Evans!" Sirius said, blushing. He grabbed for a towel, and glared at her. "You are NOT allowed in here!"  
  
"You have nothing I haven't seen before," Lily said, effectively shocking both of the boys. "None of that matters, Sirius, you need to get to the Hospital Wing!"  
  
"I'm fine, Evans," he said, pretending not to notice that she had called him by his first name. "Really, I am."  
  
"Really, you're not," she said, glaring at him. "I'm not joking. You look horrible. You need to get down there. I'm surprised you haven't gone already."  
  
"Evans, James is down there," he said, raising his eyebrows. "I can't go down there when he's down there."  
  
"And why not?" Lily asked, putting her hands on her hips.  
  
Sirius sighed, impatiently. "Look at it this way, Evans, these are, (no offense, Moony), obviously cuts and scratches from a wild animal. I think Madam Pomfrey is smart enough to put one and one together."  
  
"Honestly, Sirius!" Lily said, tsking. "Just lie to her! I'm sure you've done it before."  
  
"And tell her what?" Sirius said. "That I took a stroll around the school on my way to breakfast, and got into a crazy fight with a few bushes on the way?"  
  
"Tell her you went into the forbidden forest because you saw something suspicious," Lily suggested.  
  
"And get detention?" Sirius asked. "I think not, Evans. I have enough lined up for this week already. I barely have time to pull the usual amount of pranks."  
  
"Sirius Black!" Lily exclaimed out of exasperation. "If you do not march your skinny behind down to the Hospital Wing RIGHT NOW, I will announce to the school that Snape got the best of you in a fight, and you're cowering up in your room because you're afraid to face the school with your many injuries."  
  
Sirius gasped. "But Evans . . ."  
  
"Now, Black!" Lily said, pointing towards the showers door. "March!"  
  
Throwing a dark look to Remus, who was shaking with suppressed laughter, Sirius faced forwards and marched out of the showers. Only when the sound of his footsteps had completely receded, did Remus let go and burst out into laughter.  
  
"What?" Lily said, her eyes wide. "What's so funny?"  
  
---  
  
The next two weeks passed painfully slowly for the Marauders and Lily. Sirius was serving multiple detentions because Madam Pomfrey believed that he had charmed the bush to pick a fight with him, himself, while Sirius had insisted that it was Snape's doing.  
  
Lily and James were avoiding each other at all costs. Lily appeared to be embarrassed at the evident feelings that he harbored for her, and James declared privately to Sirius (Sirius told Remus later) that it just hurt him too much to see Evans right now. Sirius had rolled his eyes and called him a drama queen, obviously trying to prove to Remus that he did not have favorites out of his friends.  
  
Remus just felt awful. He personally felt that he had made a mess of things. There was no way he'd ever break up with Lily now. He really, really liked her. But there was that little voice of doubt ever so present in his mind that kept saying, "If only you hadn't lied . . ."  
  
No one knew where Peter was disappearing to these days, but he seemed to be a lot more distant these days. Unfortunately, everyone around him was too wrapped up in his/her own problems to notice that something was going on. They just passed it off as a sign that Pete was finally going through puberty.  
  
It was apparent to everyone that James was having the worst time of it out of anyone. HE kept having nightmares about the transformation. One night while the boys were trying to make up loads of homework they had left until too late, James had broken one of his quills and it seemed he just snapped. He declared that he "couldn't do this anymore" and that he wanted to "switch back right now." It took a whole lot of chocolate and patience to calm him down.  
  
Later, Sirius and Remus had agreed that they had better switch back when the time came. If they didn't, James would probably eventually go mad. Merlin knew, there was no way he could handle being a werewolf again.  
  
And if it didn't work . . . and they didn't switch back, then they would have to go to Dumbledore, and risk expulsion. It was the only way to save James's sanity.  
  
---  
  
A/N: Ai eeee! James is going crazy! And don't worry. Lily IS being nicer, see? She's gracing him with her absence.  
  
I'm going to hold a little contest thing: How many people think they will switch back and how many people think they won't? If the side with the most votes is the right side, then I'll start working on the SEQUEL as soon as this story is over. If the side with the most votes is the wrong side, then I'll push the sequel aside for now and start focusing more on other stories . . . MAKE SURE YOUR VOTE IS THE RIGHT ONE!!! This should be fun.  
  
Ariana S. 


	14. the taste of forbidden things

Something Like Deception  
  
OVER A HUNDRED REVIEWS!!! YAY!!! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!  
  
A/N: I just finished the entire story, but I'm not going to put it up for a while because I'm making "adjustments" to everything. lol - I'm starting to think I'm obsessed. Seems like all I do is write these days. I write, and then I get in trouble for staying on the computer too long. My eyes are permanently red. I'm tired. Oh, so tired. But that's okay! Because I love it! Maybe it's the reviews that I'm hooked on – all of your comments. You are all so nice to me! (Heehee, so much for not caring what other people think!)  
  
I'M NOT GOING TO REPLY TO PEOPLE THIS TIME BECAUSE IT WOULD RUIN THE SURPRISE!!! SORRY!  
  
Except for Sarah "Jessica" Warder who posed a very interesting question. She said: "Why don't they just speed up another Polyjuice Potion and hope it switches them back?"  
  
Answer: Because! Think about it for a sec. What if that book that Lily found IS telling the truth and they WILL eventually switch back to their original bodies, but they don't know that they will, so they take another Polyjuice Potion before then? When the time comes to switch back, instead of staying in their own bodies, they'll just switch right back to the other person's body. Sorry if that's confusing, but it makes sense when you think about it.  
  
To Everyone Else: NO, I'M NOT PLAYING FAVORITES. That was just a really interesting question that I felt I had to answer because it crossed my mind earlier when I was writing, and I guessed a few of you would point that out and start to wonder.  
  
So Bravo to Sarah "Jessica" Warder! And now, on with all of the answers to your questions! More story!  
  
---  
  
Disclaimer: This is called "fanfiction" . net. The very idea that you would have to put a disclaimer on a story is ludicrous.  
  
Chapter Fourteen – the taste of forbidden things  
  
Lily hooked her arms around James's neck, smiled, and then kissed him right in the middle of the quidditch field. At least, that's how it looked to the crowd of students and teachers heading back towards the school. But it was Remus who was on the receiving end of that kiss, not James.  
  
"Lily, we lost," Remus muttered, turning red.  
  
"I know," she said, playfully. "That's to make you feel better."  
  
Remus smiled, then his face turned serious. "You know, we really shouldn't be doing this in public."  
  
All at once, Lily's arms dropped from around his neck, and her smile dropped from her face. "I know," she sighed. "I know, you're right. Appearances and stuff."  
  
"Right," Remus said.  
  
"But you know that IF you two don't switch tomorrow night, then everyone will just have to get used to it, anyway," Lily pointed out.  
  
"What?" Remus asked.  
  
"The whole me-dating-James-Potter thing," she said with a feral grin. "I bet nobody saw that coming, huh?"  
  
Remus glanced at her. If he didn't know better, he'd say she seemed a little too happy about the whole situation. It was almost as if . . . as if she didn't want them to switch back. As if she were perfectly fine with him being in James's body for the rest of his life. Remus felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. He didn't want to believe it, but a small part of him thought that Lily liked the attention of being with the famous James Potter more than she liked being with him.  
  
He took a deep breath. "I think . . . I think we shouldn't kiss anymore. Until James and I switch back," he said, his gaze riveted on the grass beneath them.  
  
"Why?" she asked immediately. "What's wrong?"  
  
His cheeks reddened. He was starting to feel a little embarrassed. "Because," he said, softly, "I feel like, when you kiss me, you imagine that you're really kissing James."  
  
Immediately, she drew in a sharp breath, and when she spoke, her voice was cold like ice. "Are you accusing me of having a sordid fantasy about Potter?"  
  
Remus looked up, surprised at her tone. "No," he said. "I-I just thought that if someone saw us, they'd get the wrong idea."  
  
"News flash! People already saw us, Remus!" Lily exclaimed. "They already HAVE the wrong idea!"  
  
"Lily, you're taking this the wrong way," Remus said, sighing.  
  
"Then, explain it to me," she said. "Because from what I'm hearing, it sounds like my own boyfriend doesn't want to be seen in public with me."  
  
"That's just the thing, Lily!" Remus said. "In this body, I'm NOT your boyfriend! You're not kissing me, Remus Lupin! You're kissing me, JAMES POTTER!"  
  
Lily stared at him, disgust written all over her face. "You know what I think? I think you're just insecure. I think that you're afraid that if you two switch back, I'm going to change my mind and pick him instead because I like the THRILL of being with James Potter."  
  
"That-that's not true - " he stammered. But he was lying. She had hit the nail on the head. That's exactly what he was afraid of.  
  
"I think that you're afraid that if you two switch back, people are going to say, 'Wait! Did she just dump hot, sexy James Potter for boring, studious Remus Lupin? What's the MATTER with her? There's nothing special about Remus!'" Lily was literally shaking from anger now.  
  
Remus's face was red with humiliation.  
  
"You are a bloody coward!" Lily hissed. "You have no self-confidence in yourself! I have no idea how YOU ended up in Gryffindor, because you are nothing but a – "  
  
"MAYBE I'M JUST SCARED OF LOSING YOU, LILY!" Remus yelled.  
  
Lily drew back, staring at him in surprise. She had never heard Remus raise his voice, before. "Remus – "  
  
"STOP! Just stop," Remus said, his eyes burning with tears. "You look at me differently, now, do you know that?" She just kept staring at him, so he continued. "You look at me like . . . I don't know, like you're really happy, but . . . I'm not the one you're happy with. And I've seen you around James. You don't even LOOK at him, Lily. You don't! And then I imagine myself in my body again, and I imagine that I'm the one you're NOT looking at. And James is the one you ARE."  
  
There was a long moment in which Remus stared at Lily willing her to reply, and Lily stared at the ground. Then, she looked up at him, the expression on her face hardened. And her eyes were dry.  
  
"Like I said before," she stated, "you're just insecure."  
  
Remus sank into the grass and watched her walk back up to the school without him.  
  
---  
  
As soon as she was out of Remus's sight, Lily broke into a run. Tears were streaming down her face. 'How dare he!' she thought, angrily. 'How dare he accuse me of liking Potter!' She was so caught up in her thoughts that she wasn't watching where she was going, and ran into someone.  
  
"Evans." She looked up into the face of . . . Remus Lupin. James Potter. Bugger. He was the last person she wanted to see.  
  
"Potter," she said, stepping back a bit. "What are you doing outside?"  
  
"Why are you crying?" he asked, ignoring her question with one of his own. He looked genuinely concerned. And more than a little uneasy.  
  
"None of your business," she said, shortly.  
  
"Wait, Evans," he caught her arm as she was leaving and pulled him back towards her. Lily gasped in surprise. He was strong. VERY strong. His grip on her arm was near to cutting off her circulation. She stared up at him.  
  
"What do you want?" she asked, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in her arm. "And let go of me."  
  
He released her, immediately. "Sorry," he said. "I just want to know what's wrong. Maybe . . .maybe I can help."  
  
---  
  
She narrowed her eyes. "And why would you want to do a thing like that?" she asked, suspiciously.  
  
"Because I . . ." he blushed, stopping suddenly. He had been about to say, "Because I like you," but he had a strong feeling that it wouldn't have gone over so well.  
  
"I . . ." he sighed. "I just want to show you, Evans, that maybe I'm not as bad as you think I am."  
  
"Not as bad as I think you are?" she repeated, disbelievingly. Her voice rose an octave. "You tricked your friend into becoming YOU, so you could try and get into my pants! Not to mention that your friend was unwilling!"  
  
He winced. She WOULD bring that up again. "Listen, I'm sorry, okay? I just thought that maybe if I . . . I didn't know about you and Remus. I thought maybe he could help me . . . and you would finally give me a chance."  
  
"A chance to WHAT, Potter?" she raged. "I DON'T LIKE YOU, or haven't you noticed!"  
  
"I've noticed," he said, feeling defeated. "I've definitely noticed."  
  
She shook her head. "I'm going back to the castle, Potter. I'm not going to stand here and argue about something meaningless."  
  
"It's not meaningless!" James said, reaching out and grabbing her arm again before she could walk away. How could she say that? How could she call his – he swallowed - love for her something meaningless?  
  
"Let me go, Potter! Let me go, or I swear I'll risk detention and hex you!" Lily threatened.  
  
James did not let her go. "You like Remus, don't you?" he said, desperately. "Well, I'm him, Lily! For now, I'm him!"  
  
Before she had a chance to reply, he had sealed his lips over hers.  
  
---  
  
Lily froze. Remus's lips – her boyfriend's warm, familiar lips were over hers again. Finally. 'But, he's Potter!' her mind, protested. 'He's James Potter, not Remus!' But those lips . . . that hair . . . this expression. It was so Remus.  
  
And so, she kissed him back.  
  
---  
  
The following morning, all of the Marauders and Lily sat up in the boys' dormitory. They had half an hour before classes and it was the day that the boys were – hopefully – going to switch back.  
  
Lily sat in a chair, her head in her hands. Yesterday had been quite a day. After Potter had kissed her, she'd slapped him. Then, she had run up to the castle, flung herself on her bed and cried. And now, she didn't know what to think.  
  
The tension in the room was thick. As far as Lily knew, Potter hadn't told anyone about their stolen kiss, but the argument that she and Remus had had still hung heavily in the air. No one knew about their fight, but the others sensed something was wrong. She hadn't even spoken to Remus this morning. The only one she talked to was Sirius.  
  
"It should happen in a little bit," Sirius said, breaking the silence.  
  
Lily, careful not to meet anyone else's eyes, looked up at him. "What?" she asked.  
  
"Remus should fall asleep. Like he did before," Sirius said.  
  
"Oh," Lily said. They had filled her in on how everyone changed the first time. Lily had found the whole sleeping thing rather odd, and she figured that it played a key factor in their transformation.  
  
"What if I don't fall asleep this time?" Remus asked, gloomily.  
  
"You WILL," Sirius said, fiercely. "There's no 'what if' involved."  
  
Lily sighed. She was so confused. At first she hadn't wanted Remus to switch back, and not just because she was known as James Potter's girl, but also because she didn't want him to have to deal with the monstrosity every month. If anyone had to go through that, she would rather that it wasn't Remus. He was the kindest person Lily knew, and he didn't deserve it.  
  
However, now, she was mixed up inside. James had kissed her. In Remus's body. To everyone else, it would have looked as if she were cheating on James Potter with one of his best friends. But that was the friend she was supposed to be with in the first place. And to him, she really WOULD have been cheating with one of his best friends.  
  
It made her wonder. For appearances sake, this whole time, shouldn't she have been making out with James in Remus's body? It would have made a lot more sense. They didn't have to be REALLY making out, either. It would have been just for show until the boys switched back.  
  
Internally, she groaned. They had really messed up.  
  
---  
  
James felt awful. Awful and guilty. Sure, he had had his moment of heaven, but at what price? Karma was a bitch.  
  
He gazed at Lily, and was not surprised to find that she was very carefully NOT looking back at him. Hurt welled up inside of him. They had definitely shared something last night. Never mind that she was his friend's girlfriend. He had liked her first, and he still did.  
  
And he probably still would for a very long time.  
  
---  
  
Remus's stomach was churning unpleasantly. He was tired. Tired and hungry. Tired and hungry was never a good combination. Plus Lily was still angry with him. She hadn't looked at him once this morning.  
  
Her angry words came back to hurt him, 'You are a bloody coward! You have no self-confidence in yourself . . . You're just insecure.' He frowned. So what if he was? Was he not allowed to be afraid?  
  
He glanced at her. She had put her head back down in her hands. Her hair was falling through her fingers like silk. He smiled, slightly. She was still beautiful, even when she was upset.  
  
'But I don't want her to be upset,' he thought.  
  
He took a deep breath. "Lily? Can I – ?" Just as she looked up at him, he was overcome by a feeling of nausea. The room started to swim. "Whoa," he said, weakly.  
  
He was vaguely aware of her saying his name before he was enveloped in darkness.  
  
---  
  
Lily's eyes widened. "What's happening? Black, what's happening? Did he faint? Is that how he fell asleep before?" She was aware that she was panicking, but she really didn't care. In two seconds, she was over at Remus's side.  
  
"Sirius!" she exclaimed, in her excitement forgetting to use his last name. "I think he's changing back!"  
  
Sirius was over there faster than she had been. "Hey, you're right! Look! He's getting smaller!"  
  
Lily stopped and scowled at him. "Remus is NOT small."  
  
He smirked. "And you would know, right?" Her face flushed, and she turned back towards Remus, deciding to ignore him.  
  
He was himself, now. She smiled, starting to get a bit misty eyed. "Well, he'll be happy when he wakes up," she said, mostly to herself. She took a hand and ran it through his hair. It was long, just like she remembered it . . . Just like it had been last night . . .  
  
Gasping, she took a step back, and pulled her hand with her.  
  
"What's the matter with you, Evans?" Sirius said, looking at her strangely.  
  
She took a deep breath and didn't answer him. Remus was definitely lying on that bed. So how come . . . she was picturing Potter there, instead? In her mind, she kept seeing it – Potter kiss her – over and over again. She shut her eyes tightly, willing the images to go away. Was this how she was going to see him from now on? As Potter? What if, every time she looked at him from now on, she saw Potter kiss her in her mind?  
  
She spun around and glared furiously, tears welling up in her eyes. There was Potter. Still in Remus's body. Staring at her in concern . . . Concern! Yeah, right! "This is all your fault!" she hissed.  
  
Then, she turned and ran from the room, not bothering to close the door behind her. And the tears cascaded down her face.  
  
---  
  
"You're pretty when you cry," his soft voice said from her doorway.  
  
Lily sat up and turned. She hadn't even heard her dormitory door open. "Remus?"  
  
"I wish I could say yes," he said, sighing.  
  
Her eyes narrowed. "Potter. Go away. I do NOT want to see you."  
  
"Lily, listen to me, please."  
  
"Don't call me Lily!" she said. "And how did you get up here, anyway?"  
  
"Marauder secret," he said, giving her Remus's smile. She glowered, and the smile faded from his face. "Lily . . . I want to apologize about last night. I know I put you on the spot and I'm sorry."  
  
She turned crimson. "Could we not talk about that ever again?" she asked. "It was a mistake, Potter. I was confused."  
  
A hurt look passed over his face that she just barely missed. "On one condition," he said, walking over to her.  
  
She frowned. "What?"  
  
He sat down on her bed, and turned to face her. "That I get to kiss you again."  
  
Her eyes widened. "THAT is BLACKMAIL," she said, angry and shocked.  
  
"I know," he said, seriously. His face was very close now. Lily started to pull away, but he snaked one arm around her, and pulled her to him. There was a second, one moment, where she could have stopped him.  
  
She didn't.  
  
---  
  
A/N: Hm. That's longer than usual. I couldn't think of a way to shorten it, though, so . . . Oh well! Don't worry, guys! It's still a Remus/Lily, but that dirty, dirty James is blackmailing her! I don't know about you, but I sure wouldn't mind being blackmailed by him.  
  
You Review, Me Update (smile!)  
  
Ariana S. 


	15. the way it's gonna be

ATTN: ONLY THING CHANGED IS THE SUMMARY FOR "Something Like Betrayal" AT THE BOTTOM. NOTHING IN THE STORY IS CHANGED!!! SO IF YOU WOULD, JUST REREAD THE SUMMARY! THANKS!  
  
Something Like Deception  
  
A/N: Sadly, this is the last chapter. I am going to miss this story so, so much! And I am going to miss all of you! Hopefully, you'll stick around for the sequel, though. I'll have the first chapter up in a few days cuz most people picked that they would switch back, and they did!  
  
HUGE THANKYOUS TO EVERYONE WHO EVER READ, REVIEWED, OR BOTH!!!  
  
walkingcensure: um, yeah, I already emailed you and everything, but THANKS FOR REVIEWING! AND THANKS FOR ALREADY HAVING ME ON YOUR FAVS LIST. (I had no idea since I never check – heehee)  
  
Nancy: Thank you! I hope everything falls together in this chapter for you.  
  
Jinger: I'm glad you liked it. Remus switched back before James did because at the beginning he took the potion before James, remember? So James switched back later after him.  
  
Jessi: The Real World? What's that? Never heard of it. Oh, and Remus switched back because in the beginning he switched before James did, so James switched after he did, later on. And your email address is hilarious! I love it! Thanks for reviewing!  
  
gab3: An addiction? Really? (blushes) Thank you!  
  
lxldiRRtyJesslxl: Thanks a bunch! Their friendship? You'll see in this chapter.  
  
lil'doxy: Heehee, I do the same thing with other people's stories. Sometimes, other stories have such an impact on me that I start dreaming about what might happen next! Weird, huh? Anywayz, thanks for reviewing!  
  
Grace: Thank you so much! I will!  
  
Amariel: Hyper maybe? Heehee, thank you, and here's more!  
  
Quiteona: No sadly, Lily and James will not be together in this fic, but hey, that's what sequels are for, eh? (nudge, wink) And I do kinda torture Remus a bit more than the others, don't I? Oops. Well, thanks for reviewing!  
  
THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER! THANKS AGAIN FOR READING AND REVIEWING EVERYONE!!!  
  
---  
  
Disclaimer: (sigh)  
  
Chapter Fifteen – the way it's gonna be  
  
Remus grinned. He was back. James was back. Sirius was elated. Lily was still his, Remus had apologized, James had forgiven him for lying in the first place, and they were all serving detention for one week.  
  
Lily would have gotten off with a flimsy excuse if Sirius hadn't ruined it for her. She was in the process of telling a professor that she was really, very sick yesterday, hence her reason for missing classes, when Sirius walked by, happened to hear her, and said really loud, "It was fun skiving off class yesterday, wasn't it Evans? We should do it again some time!"  
  
So now, when they were supposed to be polishing trophies, without their wands, Lily was instead chasing Sirius around with the polisher, James was laughing, and Remus was shaking his head.  
  
"You know, we could leave a whole lot earlier if we do this," James said. "Accio, polisher!" The polisher flew towards him, and he poured it out of the window that was nearest him. "Look," he said in mock sadness. "We're all out."  
  
"Potter!" Lily said, surprised. "Now, what are we supposed to clean with?"  
  
"Scourgify!" James said, pointing towards the trophies. At once, they all looked brand new. The glare was enough to blind all of them. He turned back towards Lily, smirking.  
  
"But . . . that's cheating," Lily said, raising her eyebrows. "I think Filch'll realize that four teenagers with one bottle of polisher couldn't possibly clean all of these trophies this well."  
  
"Would you like to muck it up again for us, then, Evans?" Sirius asked, sweetly. "So we can do it the right way?"  
  
"Oh, but we can't, Padfoot!" James said, feigning wide-eyed innocence. "We're all out of polisher, didn't you hear?" They both cracked up laughing.  
  
Lily turned to Remus, her eyebrows still raised, as if to say, "And you're going to just let them get away with this?"  
  
Remus smiled at the expression on her face, and slipped an arm around her waist. "I wouldn't worry about it," he said, giving her a peck on the cheek. "We're out earlier this way, see?"  
  
Lily sighed. "It's not right, though," she mumbled, looking dejected.  
  
Remus wrapped her in a hug. "I could make you feel better," he whispered in her ear, and then he pulled back to watch her expression change. Sure enough, she began to smile, and he captured her lips with his.  
  
"Could you please do that elsewhere?" Sirius said in a pained voice.  
  
Lily giggled against Remus's lips, causing him to smile as well. "I can't, Sirius," she said, sweetly. "You see, now that all of the polisher is gone, and the trophies are clean, I have nothing else to do."  
  
"Hey!" Remus said, playfully. "So you're just doing this because you're bored?"  
  
"Well . . ." Lily said, thoughtfully.  
  
"You'll pay for that one!" Remus said, grinning. He pulled out his wand, and twirled it in his fingers grinning at her.  
  
"No fair!" Lily cried. "I left my wand in the dorm room."  
  
"Not my problem," Remus said, his grin widening. "Not my problem at all."  
  
Silently by the window, James looked on.  
  
---  
  
Sirius laughed. "I can eat more than that!" he said, grabbing the box of Bernie Bott's Every Flavor Beans out of James's hands.  
  
"Potter, you're going to choke!" Lily said, worriedly, from Remus's bed.  
  
It was later that night and Sirius had called a contest going to see who could stuff the most beans in their mouth. Remus and Lily wisely decided not to participate, so the contest was between James and Sirius, only.  
  
"How many did he have?" Remus said, peering from around Lily. She was sitting between his legs, and his front was against her back. His hands were around her waist, holding her to him.  
  
"Not as many as I'm going to have!" Sirius said. He and James were now involved in a tug of war over the beans.  
  
Remus tugged on Lily's hair. She turned her face towards him, and smiled. "Yes?" she asked. He kissed her on the lips, leaning over her, so her neck wouldn't get stiff. She was still sitting facing front in his lap. He tightened his grip around her waist.  
  
Remus leaned back, pulling him with her. They broke the kiss long enough for him to flip her over. Merlin! Now she was straddling him. Remus moaned softly, and his eyes fluttered closed. This was almost too much for him, and they hadn't done anything, yet.  
  
Lily laughed, softly, her breath tickling his neck.  
  
His eyes opened again, and he looked up at her. Her eyes were the greenest he had ever seen them, and her lips were swollen from his kisses. Her face was flushed with exhilaration. She was gorgeous. "Stay with me, tonight?" he asked, quietly.  
  
She caught her breath. "Really?" she asked.  
  
Remus pulled her down on top of him, so that her body was covering his, hugged her to him. "Really," he whispered.  
  
---  
  
Lily relaxed against him. For someone so lean, Remus's body was pretty tough. She smiled. It was probably because of the werewolf in him. He let out a soft sigh.  
  
"This is comfortable," he said, his voice vibrating through her body. She shivered.  
  
"It is," Lily said, her voice muffled. Her head was on his chest, and her body was between his legs. One of his hands was idly playing with her hair and his other hand was drawing lazy circles across her back.  
  
Being like this, with him, she could just about forget those kisses that she and Potter had shared. Just about.  
  
She shut her eyes tightly. "Remus?" she said, hesitantly.  
  
"Yes?" The circles on her back paused.  
  
"Can we stay like this?" She didn't mean in their current position; she meant something else entirely.  
  
However, Remus understood, and she felt (rather than saw) him smile. "Yes, Lily. We can stay like this."  
  
Lily smiled. They wouldn't stay like this forever, she knew.  
  
But for now, it was enough.  
  
---  
  
A/N: Again, I want to thank everyone! You guys are all awesome! Thank you for sticking with me and reviewing for as long as you have been. Especially the people who reviewed EVERY CHAPTER! That was incredible! (wipes a tear away) I'm going to miss this story!  
  
Summary for next story, "Something Like Betrayal" (original title, eh?):  
  
Now that James and Remus have their own bodies back, Lily starts to realize just how attracted to Potter's body she had become. She quickly passes it off as force of habit. After all, it's ONLY his body that she's attracted to, right? And who is this girl that Remus keeps sneaking off with?  
  
I hope you all read that one, too! Thanks bunches! I love you all!  
  
Ariana S. 


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